The Ultimate Sacrifice
by Rangersbabe10
Summary: Ranger goes in the wind & Steph's spidey sense goes crazy... is there something going on or could it all be a coincidence... I suck at summaries but I swear it's going to be good. :-) I Totally PROMISE a HEA..This is not a Cupcake story although Joe is not abused. This is not a tart story. This is a Steph finding herself story, learning about who she is.. I hope you all read it :-)
1. A Not So Normal Day

I'm Back! :-) I'm so excited to be back! I owe a lot to my Chesi-Babe! She's the best and I know she'll keep me on my toes. Thanks Sweets!

Disclaimer: These characters are NOT mine and I am NOT making any money.

Please read and enjoy and maybe review!

Chapter One  
A Not So Normal Day

The bonds office had always been loud and noisy. Well loud and noisy for a bonds office anyway. Connie could often be found on the phone talking to a 'client' while Lula chatted away about the latest fashion or the latest diet she was on. And Vinnie Plum could always be heard; either doing unspeakable things to a duck or bitching about money. It was toss-up. But today as Stephanie Plum –bounty hunter– entered the bonds office, a silence filled the small space that could only be described as tense and uncomfortable and the first words Connie spoke only added to that tension.

"Shhh, you have to be quiet." Connie whispered sharply.

"Why?" Steph whispered back in hushed tones, her eyes darting from Connie to Lula and back again.

Connie pointed toward Vincent Plum's –her boss— office. "Ranger is in there with Vinnie and he is pissed. I've never seen him so pissed off."

Lula made a grunting noise. "Batman is scary today, white girl."

Steph eyed the dark wooden door like she was able to see through it. Ranger was many things to her, but scary had never been one of them. She wasn't afraid of Ranger and she knew he would never hurt her. She might even be able to talk to him to find out what was wrong. She took a step toward the door only to have Connie's words stop her in mid-step.

"Stay away from Ranger!" Connie urgently whispered.

"Why?" Steph whispered back in hushed tones, her eyes darting from Connie to Lula and back again.

Connie's eyes glanced at her cousin Vinnie Plum's office door before finding Steph's once more. "You haven't heard?" Connie asked in surprise.

Steph shook her head, held in place at the door by the sound of fear in Connie's voice. Ranger had never hurt her. In fact, he was her protector, her mentor, and her friend. He had been her lover too on several occasions, but this wasn't the time nor the place to rehash any of that. "Heard what?" She continued in a whisper.

Connie motioned for Steph to come closer and Steph moved quietly and almost on tiptoe until she reached Connie's side. "Someone is killing Ranger's family and friends." She stated, her voice dropping another octave.

Steph's mouth dropped open in shock. "What?" Her eyes darted to Lula who was nodding vigorously. "Why? Who?" Steph wondered out loud.

"Ranger doesn't know, but he's in the worst mood possible. Some say he's homicidal." Connie was still whispering.

A frown marred Steph's pretty features as she stared off into space. She knew that Ranger didn't tell her everything, but she couldn't help but feel a little hurt at not knowing that something this important about Ranger. Steph shook her head and scolded herself. What the hell was she thinking? Ranger's family and friends were being preyed on and she was worried about her feelings.

"Why are we whispering?" Steph asked in a whisper, looking towards Vinnie's door. She didn't see any of Ranger's vehicles in the parking lot so she didn't think he was here.

Connie nodded towards Vinnie's office. "He's in there with Vinnie. It's been super quiet since Ranger went in there except for Vinnie making a high squeaking noise about ten minutes ago and then it went back to being silent."

Steph took a deep breath. She wasn't sure what to do. Should she confront Ranger? Ask if he needs any help? Or maybe she should just duck out of the office and come back. She knew that was the chicken way out, but she wasn't quite sure if she could handle being in Ranger's presence yet. When he discovered that she was trying out cooking recipes in crock pots and buying vacuum cleaners, he kissed her on the forehead and told her that Morelli would make a fine husband and then he was gone and she hadn't seen him since. She assumed that he was avoiding her and her sudden 'house-wife' tendencies but now she wasn't sure what to think.

She wanted to lag behind and talk to Ranger, find out if he was okay or maybe she could help him somehow, but she wouldn't do that with an audience. No, she would wait until later and call him or maybe even go by RangeMan and talk to him personally. That's exactly what she would do.

"Any new ones?" Steph whispered.

Connie shook her head. "Sorry."

Steph shrugged it off, telling her not a big deal. "I'll be back later." She told them before turning and heading out. She got the door opened before the air in the office changed and the hair on the back of her neck came up and she shivered. A large warm hand settled on the nape of her neck and another shiver went down her spine.

"Going somewhere, Babe?" Ranger's voice was lower than normal and a little rough. She knew immediately without 'seeing' him that he wasn't sleeping.

She gave a glance over her shoulder and gave a shrug. "Just heading out to grab a few skips." She replied nonchalantly.

He made a noise within his throat. "I want to talk to you. Outside." He said as he gently pushed her out the door and towards the alley way. She tried to move away from his strong hold, but it was firm and unbreakable. He crowded her against the wall, their noses almost touching. Steph saw the dark circles under his eyes and the worry lines across his forehead. He was struggling and she hated it.

"What's up, Ranger?" She asked.

His forehead touched hers and he let out a small breath. "I'm going out of town, Babe."

She nodded. "And you're letting me know." She stated, unsure of why he was.

"I'm letting you know, yes, because I want you to know that if there's anything you need just ask Tank." He told her. The tone of his voice seemed so final. She didn't like this Ranger.

She nodded her agreement. "I promise that if there's anything I need that I will ask Tank."

"Or Santos."

She nodded again. "Or Lester."

"And if you're in danger, my apartment is always available to you. Always."

Again the finality in his voice. It was touching on something that she didn't like. It worried her. "I promise if I need your apartment on seven, I won't hesitate."

He let out another breath and nodded. This Ranger was scaring the bejeezus out her. He seemed so different than normal. She wanted _her_ Ranger back or even the one she first met would be okay too. Any Ranger but this one. This one she didn't know how to handle.

She cleared her throat. "Is everything okay?" She questioned hesitantly.

He shook his head but didn't speak.

"I know it isn't any of my business, but …"

"A man from my past has killed an old family friend, a distant uncle and cousin."

Steph didn't hide her shock. "Oh Ranger that's horrible. I'm sorry." She tried to give him a hug but his closeness to her own body didn't allow the hug.

"I've got to go out of town, Babe. If need you anything…" He started to repeat. This was so not like Ranger.

Steph interrupted him. "I'll call Tank or Lester."

He nodded, but again he stayed silent; his eyes watching hers.

She hated the silence. "Is it okay if I come by RangeMan later to use …"

His lips touched hers cutting her off mid-sentence. It was just a brief touch of his lips but she felt it down to her toes.

"Anything you need, Babe. Always. No price." He replied against her mouth.

"Thanks." She whispered against his.

He pressed another soft kiss to her parted mouth and then he was gone. She wasn't sure why but her spidey sense was going off like the Fourth of July fireworks.

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She spent her morning and most of her afternoon with Mooner, watching Gilligan's Island re-runs. Once she got him re-bonded and back home –and one more Gilligan's Island episode– she headed over to RangeMan. She told Ranger she was going to stop by and even though he said it was okay, she was still going to stop by his office to let him that she was there. Maybe his attitude had changed since this morning. Maybe his morning had just been off.

She had been thinking about Ranger all day. About what Connie had told her and then what Ranger had told her. Her heart went out to him and his family, but it was hard to express that to Ranger. He was so closed off and never showed any emotions. Sometimes she had trouble talking to him when he was like that, but she wanted to. And she was going to get that chance again.

After giving her signature little finger wave, she stepped off the elevator. She made her way to Ranger's office, but stopped short when she heard voices; Tank's and Ranger's.

"You think it could work?" Tank questioned.

"I'm honestly not sure, but I can't just sit back and not do anything."

"There are other options, Ranger."

"I don't think there is, Tank. He may be starting with distant relatives and long lost friends, but eventually and more than likely soon since he's already made the threat, he'll be moving up to my parents or my daughter and to you, Santos, or even Steph. I can't have that."

"I understand that, but it's dangerous and risky."

"I'm aware of the risks, Tank. I've accepted it."

"Are you sure you want to do this, Range Man?" Tank asked, seeming almost desperate to change his mind.

"I don't have a choice, Tank. I need to do this."

"You do know what the outcome is going to be, don't you?"

"I do, but there isn't any other way."

"Are you absolutely sure about that?"

"Are you questioning me?"

Steph flinched. Ranger didn't sound happy about that.

"You know I am. It's fucking dangerous and really fucking stupid. Everyone is going to be pissed, Ranger."

_Pissed at what?_

"I'll deal with that when the time comes."

"And if you can't?"

"Then I can't."

Now why did that sound so damn final?

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After eavesdropping on Ranger's conversation with Tank, she decided not to talk to Ranger. She would wait until tomorrow or maybe after her search. So instead she sat down behind a desk and started her search on the man that had been able to elude her for the past two weeks.

Dale Silverman was five foot eight and weighed two hundred pounds so he should have been easy to spot and technically he was, but he was hard to capture. She always found him around a crowd of people and things always went down… not according to plan.

She had gone to school with Dale although he was a year older, he was held back in the fourth grade. He knew all about the Bombshell Bounty Hunter and he knew what she looked like so the moment Dale caught sight of her curly brown hair, he took off as fast as his chubby legs would move. She would give chase but somehow he wasn't so easy to catch. The first time she lost him was in the shoe store at the mall. He threw a kitten heel at her head almost knocking her out. Those red heels not only hurt her feet, but her head as well. They may be small but they packed a punch.

Three days later she caught sight of him again. This time he was at Cluck in a Bucket and Lula was with her. Steph had pointed Dale out to Lula which had been a bad idea. Before she knew it, fried chicken was flying all over the place and of course a giant breast had hit her in the head. It didn't hurt as bad as the kitten heel, but it stunned her long enough for her skip to jump in his little green mini cooper –how he fit in that little thing was beyond her– and drive off. Lula was still throwing pieces of chicken at his car.

Since Dale was never at home or at his parent's house and he didn't have a job, she was stuck having to just 'spot' him out and about. She should have known that plan wasn't going to work and a week later when she spotted him again, she finally learned her lesson.

Back at the mall again, she saw Dale as he entered the children's arcade. It was in the middle of a school day so the arcade was pretty much empty. Steph was sure this was going to be an easy apprehension. She was wrong. She snuck up behind him and when she went to slap on a cuff, he flung his arm out and she was thrown into a pinball machine, her back hit the corner and she almost collapsed from the pain of it. She still carried the damn bruise. Dale snickered and that just pissed her off. She shook off the pain and took off after him. She chased him out of the arcade, down the stretch that was empty except for a few older people. She tried to tackle him about seventy feet from the arcade, but he grabbed her arm anticipating her tackle and tossed her into a moving hot dog cart. From the force of Dale throwing her, the hot dog cart actually toppled over and hot dogs went everywhere. The owner of the hot dog cart was pissed, yelling and screaming at her, he even threw hot dogs at her. And the some of the condiments too. As for Dale, he disappeared and she hadn't seen him since.

So here she was at RangeMan, trying to find some small hint of where he could be hiding out. His place was a single wide trailer in the middle of more single wide trailers in a trailer park. Every time she went there, his front door was standing wide open. She made the mistake of going in that first time, but she wouldn't do that again. Dale didn't have any personal possessions that she could see. The furniture was old, the painting was peeling, and the place smelled of mildew. No, it reeked of mildew. Enough to make her gag. She could understand why Dale didn't hang around there. Maybe it was like Ranger's address on his id; an empty lot. Maybe Dale gave Connie a false address. Anything was possible.

His parents place was smaller than her childhood home but pretty much the same idea. She had went there several times and she was convince that Mr. and Mrs. Silverman had no clue where their son was hiding out and nor did they care. She got the feeling that Dale was the black sheep of the family. Steph smiled softly to herself. She kind of knew that feeling. She was the black sheep of hers. Well maybe not black, just a dark grey.

After getting the search printed out, she sat back down at her desk and went to reading. The last known address was the old single wide trailer so no help there. His last job was a computer technician, but he was fired when he was caught hacking into other computer systems. He wasn't into anything malicious, he was just playing around to see if he could do it. Oh he could do it alright, so well the FBI arrested him when he 'accidentally' hacked into a FBI database. Oops! First offense and all that so he was let out on bail. Bad idea seeing how he didn't turn up for his court date.

Before that he worked at McDonald's, Cluck in the Bucket, and the arcade at the mall. That was so weird, Steph thought. Why work at a fast food restaurant when he could work on computers. Stranger yet, he didn't have any college background. So how did he get a job as a computer technician? The search on him didn't give any hints or clues to how he got that job. But it did give her a clue at his whereabouts. He could often be found helping out at the local homeless shelter, so maybe he was there. She wondered how he got involved in volunteering at a homeless shelter. And if Dale was volunteering, shouldn't she?

Something to think about definitely.

Steph knew now what she was going to do. She would get up tomorrow early; ten was early, right? She would stake out the homeless shelter and watch for Dale. But not just tomorrow. She would watch it closely for a few days, to see if he had any patterns of his comings and goings. Then maybe she could catch him unaware and snag him. She was proud of herself for coming up with that plan. Ranger would like it too. Maybe he could help out before he left. She would like to be able to spend a little time with him before he left.

She shut down her computer, grabbed the search, stuffing that into her bag, she headed back to Ranger's office. Only to find it dark. She called Ranger's cell, but he didn't answer. Something hard settled on her chest and she took a deep breath. She had a bad feeling. Spotting Tank's office light on, she knocked on his door.

"Yeah?" He called out.

She opened the door, giving Tank a smile. "Hey Tank."

He gave her a big grin. "Hey little girl, how can I help you?"

She chewed on her lower lip. "Is Ranger up on seven?" She asked.

His smile turned into a frown. "I'm sorry, Steph, but Ranger already left."

Her heart sank and that something hard on her chest just got harder. "He already left? He was just here a little bit ago." Steph said, looking at her watch. Shit! Several hours had went by as she did her search. She had been so caught up in it, she hadn't noticed time flying.

Tank nodded. "He had to go. I'm sorry Bomber."

Steph gave him an odd look. Now he was doing it. Why did his apology sound so final and so dark? Her spidey sense was going crazy and a sense of dread filled her mind and her heart.


	2. Special Days & Special Friends

Author's Note: Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews! I wasn't to reply to all of you, but I do want you to know that it means so much to me that you're reading this story & enjoying it as well! Thank you for adding me to your story alerts and your favorites list. You All Are Wonderful! Thank you!

Disclaimer: The characters are NOT mine and I am NOT making any money.

I am updating a day early. I think Wednesday will be my regular days for updating. SO please enjoy!

Chapter Two  
Special Days & Special Friends

She didn't get any sleep last night. Oh she tried, but all she could do was toss and turn. Her mind was too busy running rampant with images of Ranger. What was he up to? Was he okay? Was his family going to be okay? Was he going after the man that killed his family? Tank had seemed so desperate and definitely concerned yesterday in Ranger's office. She couldn't see their faces, but she was sure Tank had been almost begging Ranger to change his mind. She knew better. Ranger wouldn't change his mind. He was as stubborn as her.

But what really kept her up all night was the finality in both their voices. It worried her and it definitely was scaring the shit out of her. So no matter how hard she tried, all she could do was toss and turn. She would just keep Ranger on her thoughts and in her heart. Just like she always did because she knew he would come back to her. He was Ranger, he was Batman, and he was invincible.

It was eight in the morning and she had been staked out in front of the homeless shelter; Hope House for the last two and a half hours. She still hadn't seen any signs of Dale but she wasn't giving up. She was definitely thankful for her two door Kia Forte. Abyss blue in color with black interior, it blended right in. Well it almost blended in, but she loved it anyway. And she got for a steal. Hell, she got it for free. A friend of her Grandmother's had passed away and left Grandma Mazur her new car. Yep! The Kia Forte! It was really nice. Hell, it was a lot nicer than just nice. She still couldn't believe her grandmother signed it over to her. She even insured it out the butt. She didn't want anything to happen to this beauty so she was being super careful with it.

Her new little Kia had a 2.0L engine with a hundred and seventy-three horsepower. It was able to get twenty-four miles to the gallon in the city and thirty-six on the highway. It had rear camera display and LED positioning lights. She wasn't sure what those were and she didn't care. It also had a power sunroof, heated seats, navigation system and a weather station thing. The heat and the air conditioning worked like a champ and she had a Boze stereo system in this thing. She hated that her grandmother's friend passed away, but she seriously loved this car. That's why lately, she'd been doing her captures with Big Blue which was indestructible or Lula's red firebird. But this morning she needed to blend in and Big Blue did not blend in. Lula wasn't up this early in the morning so she was all by herself. With her thoughts.

She shook her head, shaking away those darn thoughts. She couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed her phone.

"Hey Steph, what's up?" Mary Lou answered breathless. Steph could hear screaming in the background and something that sounded like an explosion. She was pretty sure the explosion was the television. She hoped so anyway.

"I need a night out. Can you get away?" Stephanie asked hopeful.

"Oh my God YES!" She practically screamed in the phone.

Steph laughed. "Need a break, huh?"

Mary Lou laughed. "You have no idea, honey. These boys are driving me nuts."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Out to dinner and then maybe a club so we can go dancing."

Steph liked that plan. "Where do you want to go to dinner?"

"Is Rossini's too fancy?"

Steph felt an ache at the mention of Rossini's. She had been there many times with Ranger and at the thought of Ranger made her spidey sense kick in and it made her heart heavy. She shook it off. She wouldn't let that interfere with her evening.

"I think that's a great idea. Then we head to that new club down town."

"Which one? I think there was two?"

Another explosion sounded over the phone and Mary Lou let out a soft curse word. "Turn that crap down." She yelled.

Steph smiled. "How about the one called Fire & Ice?"

"Ooooo, I've heard cool things about that one."

"I'll pick ya up at seven."

Another explosion and then screaming filled Steph's ear. "Can you make it six?" Mary Lou asked, sounding tired and out of patience.

Steph giggled. "I'll be there at six."

"Bless you."

Steph hang up the phone laughing. Maybe spending the evening with her best friend would take her mind off Ranger and this dreadful feeling.

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Steph went shopping that afternoon and for the first time she didn't enjoy it. She did however get the cutest dress and some really sexy shoes. Now as she twirled in front of her mirror, she had to admit she looked damned good. The fit and flare dress was spa blue in color with yellow trim with a built-in bra, sleek racer back, and cut out sides. And its mid-thigh skirt wouldn't prohibited any movement as she danced. She decided on a pair of pale yellow kitten heels to match her gorgeous dress. She piled her curls on top her head with little tendrils escaping to caress her neck. Just a hint of blush, eye shadow, and several swipes of mascara completed her ensemble.

She dropped some hamster pellets and a carrot into Rex's glass aquarium. "Be good tonight, Rex and I'll do the same." She laughed at her own joke.

After grabbing her small pale yellow clutch, making sure she had all her essentials, she headed out the door. She made it to Mary Lou's place just as she came running out the front door. Mary Lou jumped into her Kia.

"Go, go, go!" Mary Lou shouted, giggling.

Steph laughed and took off. "Afraid they might stop you?" She teased.

Mary Lou smoothed the skirt of her black dress and sighed. "You have no idea, Girl. I almost didn't get out there."

"Well we're off to dinner and then the club and no one can stop us."

"Thank God!" Mary Lou exclaimed.

Rossini's wasn't too busy since it was only 6:15. The girls ordered their food; fettuccine alfredo for Steph and chicken parm for Mary Lou. And because Steph had to drive, they were sharing a marguerita. Steph took a long drink and let out a contented sigh as she sat the glass back down. Mary Lou chuckled as she picked it up just as quickly.

"So…" Mary Lou stressed giving Steph a know it all grin.

She gave her a look of innocence or maybe one of complete dumbfoundedness. "What?"

"Oh don't play dumb with me. Something's going on with you. Something serious. I can see it in your eyes."

Steph sighed in surrender. "Ranger's gone out of town."

ML nodded. "You mean like he's in the wind?" Steph nodded. "Damn that sucks, but doesn't he do that all the time?"

"Yeah, but it's just different this time."

"How?" ML gave her best friend her full attention.

Steph shrugged. "I don't know, Mary Lou. It just feels… final."

ML's brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean final?"

Another shrug. "I can't explain it. Something in their voices just seemed… off."

"Their?"

Steph nodded. "Ranger and Tank. I overheard them talking in Ranger's office about going after this man that's killed Ranger's family."

"Someone is killing Ranger's family?" ML asked shocked.

She nodded again. "Yep."

ML curled her lip. "Are they stupid?"

Steph let out a small chuckle. "For messing with Ranger, oh for sure."

"Sorry for changing the subject… now what about eavesdropping…"

She smiled at her best friend. "I did eavesdrop and oh Mary Lou, I wish I hadn't. I don't think this is just an average 'in the wind' thing for Ranger. I think it's much more serious."

"How much more serious?"

Steph chewed on her lower lip, trying to keep the tears at bay. "Deadly."

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That one little word said it all for Mary Lou. She was scared for her friend, but she put on a brave face and gave her best friend the night she needed. After dinner at Rossini's, they took off to the newest and hottest club in down town Trenton, Fire & Ice. Upon entering the club, the bass from the current song made Steph's ears cringe. It had been so long since she had been at the club she had completely forgotten the ear deafening music.

"I love this song." ML called out, already moving to the music. Within minutes, she had lost sight of Mary Lou as the song changed from one fast one to another. Steph drank a green apple martini and then a chocolate martini, but they did nothing for her. So she switched to a beer. The music was fast, upbeat with a good tempo but her heart wasn't in it. All she could think about Ranger and this feeling of dread that continue to wash over her.

She abandoned her half empty bottle of beer and told the bartender a bottle of water. She watched as her best friend had the time of her life dancing amongst the crazy youngsters. She was glad her friend was having a good time. She most certainly needed it.

After two more songs, ML finally noticed she wasn't there by her side. She came up to Steph, practically skipping. She grabbed her hand and tugged. "Come on, honey. You need to dance. You need to get all that crap out of your head. If only for a few minutes, you still need that few minutes." Mary Lou told her, dragging her out onto the dance floor.

Steph laughed at her best friend, but let herself get lost in the music. She bumped and grind along with Mary Lou laughing when the men around them were watching them in appreciation and urging them to do a little more. They laughed it off, doing their thing. She wished the Merry Men were here and maybe even Lula, but at the same time she was glad they weren't. She hadn't realized how much she missed her best friend.

Another hour of dancing and Steph was ready to call it a night. So was Mary Lou. They were both tired, wore out, and giggling uncontrollably. Steph had done danced off the little alcohol she had drank and ML hadn't had any. It was just a good night.

She tossed her keys to Mary Lou. "What's this?" She asked, catching the keys in her right hand.

"I'm not drunk but I did have two martinis and a beer. You can drive." She told her.

ML nodded and squealed with glee. "Something besides a minivan. EEK!" She exclaimed.

Steph laughed as she climbed into the passenger seat of her Kia.

Mary Lou climbed in too. "You can sleep on my couch if you want."

Steph gave her a grin. "I'd like that."

They made it back at Mary Lou's home without any trouble. ML made a bed on the sofa for Steph, but she didn't leave the living room. Steph didn't know if Mary Lou knew she wouldn't sleep or maybe she just wasn't ready for the night to end, but she didn't leave Steph's side. They laughed and talked until almost three in the morning before ML finally conked out. Steph snuck out at dawn after another night of no sleep.

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Yesterday Dale Silverman had left Hope House at five minutes after nine. It was a good thing she had left early yesterday because if she hadn't she would have missed him. He returned to Hope House at 4:45. It closed at five. His bond was up in a week so Steph figured she had another four days of watching him; stalking him, making him her prey. And she was going to do exactly that. She was going to capture the slippery asshole and enjoy taking him back to the cop shop.

Last night she spent her evening hanging out with her best friend. Tonight she was going to spend the evening with her parents. She forced herself not to cringe. Instead she dialed her parents' number.

"Stephanie, is everything okay?" Her mother's way of answering.

Steph smiled. "Everything is fine mom. I was just calling to let you know that I was thinking of dropping by this evening for dinner."

"Stephanie, you know you're always welcome to dinner."

"I know. Just making sure."

"And everything is okay?" Her mom asked again.

Steph held back her laugh. "Yep, everything is fine." Well as fine as it can be with Ranger in the wind.

"Good. I'll see ya at six."

Steph said good bye and hung up the phone. She was actually looking forward to dinner with her parents and Grandma Mazur. Maybe she should invite Joe. Her and Morelli were in the off position in their relationship right now, but lately they were getting along a lot better. She hadn't heard from him lately, but the last time she talk to him, he told her he was doing a little undercover work for the FBI. He was hoping for a permanent position with them so he was willing to do anything to get that chance.

She didn't want to bother him, but she shrugged that off and dialed his number anyway.

"Cupcake!"

He actually sounded happy about hearing from her. Good.

"Hey Joe. You busy?"

He let out a sigh. "Just taking a quick lunch break at Pinos. What's up?"

"You wanna come to my parents' place for dinner this evening?"

"What's the occasion?"

Steph grinned. "It's just a dinner. No special occasion."

"Six?"

"Yep."

"I'll be there."

"See ya then."

"Bye Cupcake."

Even though she felt at peace with her mother and even Joe, her spidey sense wouldn't leave her alone and that feeling of dread had yet to leave.

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She was at her parents' place at ten minutes til six. Her mother and grandmother greeted her at the door with smiles.

"Hello Stephanie, you're early. You can set the table." Her mother replied before Steph could clear the front steps.

She smiled. "I'd be happy to. I invited Joe."

Grandma Mazur grinned. "That handsome Italian cop?" She asked and Steph nodded. "Oooo, eye candy during dinner."

Helen rolled her eyes. Steph was proud of that eye roll. "Calm yourself, mother. He's too young for you." She told her mother before turning to Steph. "The more the merrier."

Steph chuckled as they made their in the house. She sniffed and moaned in approval. It smelled so good. She wondered what her mother was cooking. She suddenly found it odd that her mother hadn't told her. That was normally the first thing she told her when talking about dinner. How strange. As she made her way towards the living room to greet her dad, her mother and grandmother headed towards the kitchen.

"Hey daddy!" She greeted her dad with a kiss to the forehead.

He patted the hand she placed on his arm with affection, his eyes never leaving the hockey game on television. "Hey Pumpkin. How was your day?"

"It was good, daddy."

"Good."

Her dad's attention was back on the game. Well, his attention never really left. She shook her head and chuckled some more. The doorbell ring and Steph called out that she would get it. Joseph Morelli was standing on the other side and he looked damn good. Wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a white t-shirt that show off his Italian heritage and those bulging muscles in his biceps.

"Hey Joe."

He kissed her forehead. "Hey Cupcake." He sniffed. "Something smells good."

"I agree but you know I haven't a clue what it is."

He dropped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards the kitchen. "Then let's go find out, shall we?"

They entered the kitchen that way and her mother smiled. She still had high hopes of her marrying Morelli. She grabbed the dinner plates and silverware and almost run towards the dining room. She wasn't ready to see that look on her mom's face.

After setting the table and bringing in all the covered dishes, they sat down to enjoy dinner.

"Mom, why is everything covered?"

Her mom suddenly (and strangely) got shy. "I tried a new recipe today. Something I haven't done in a long time. I'm a little nervous."

Steph had never seen this side to her mom. But she liked it. "I'm sure it's delicious, mom. Especially since you fixed it."

Helen smiled. "Thank you, dear."

Her mother uncovered Italian baked chicken breasts with twice baked potatoes and creamed peas. The peas had a little bit of 'gravy' as did the chicken. It all smelled delicious and tasted even better.

"Mrs. Plum, this is absolutely delicious."

Steph giggle when her mother blushed at Joe's compliment.

"Thank you, Joseph."

They ate in silence for a few minutes but Steph didn't want silence, she wanted conversation.

"Anything exciting happen lately, Grandma?"

"Well…" And the conversation from there never lagged. Her Grandmother told her all about two elderly women, Betty and Veronica fighting over a new resident at the senior center. But the new resident, Henry was interested in Grandma. And Grandma had a hot date on Friday night with him. Her mother didn't like the sound of that but her father was for anything that would keep her Grandmother out of the house for a longer period of time.

"Mom, anything interesting happen in the Burg lately?" Steph asked, looking for some gossip.

She sat her fork down gently and nodded slowly. "Mrs. Kolaski's daughter, Janet is involved with a…" she dropped her voice to a whisper. "Married man." Helen picked up her fork and went back to eat as if she had never said that.

Steph grinned. "Any idea who the married man is?"

"Mrs. Kolaski said it was Jeffrey Picksman."

Steph's mouth dropped. "Her boss?! The lawyer?"

Helen nodded. "That's the one."

"Isn't he an active member at church?" Another nod from her mother. "That's a shame, isn't it, Mom?"

"It so is."

"Hey mom, do you know Dale Silverman?"

She thought for a minute before shaking her head. "I don't know Dale, but I do know his parents."

"Would they lie for Dale?"

She shook her head in distaste. "The Silvermans are not very nice people. When their oldest was eighteen, they kicked him out. They didn't even give him time to find an apartment or a job. I heard he ended up homeless for a while. Their next two children had time to prepare before their parents kicked them out. But I don't think their oldest ever quite recovered from kicked out."

The Silvermans oldest child must be Dale. After be thrust out into the world at eighteen with no warning whatsoever, he probably did whatever he had to do to survive. The question was… what?

She helped her mother clean up after dinner, shocking her in the process.

"Dinner was really good, Mom. You'll have to show me how to fix it."

Steph was sure her mother was having a heart attack. She stood in front of her clutching her chest, her mouth gaped open, mimicking a fish out of water.

"Stephanie Michelle Plum, did you just ask me to teach you to cook something?" Helen asked her daughter.

Steph smiled. "I did, but don't make a big deal out of it." She told her.

Helen pulled her daughter into her arms, giving her a hug. "Oh sweetie, I'll be happy to teach you how to make anything. You just let me know when."

"I will for sure, but no talk of marriage or babies." Steph warned her.

Helen smiled. "I promise. No talk of marriage or babies."

She returned her mother's hug, then grabbed her goodbye bag of goodies and said bye to her dad and grandmother. She walked out the front door and startled when she saw Joe.

"I thought you left."

"I was going to but…" He trailed off as they walked to their vehicles.

"But what?"

He crowded her against her car, his mouth brushing her ear. "I wanted a more personal good bye." He murmured. His tongue traced the shell of her ear and she shivered.

She pressed a hand to his chest and shook her head. "I'm not in the mood, Joe."

"Is this about Ranger?" He accused.

Steph gawked at him. "What does Ranger have to do with me not wanting to have sex with you?"

Morelli shrugged sheepishly. "It normally does."

She shook her head. "No it doesn't. It never does. It has to do with you and me and only us."

His hands gripped her waist, pulling her towards him. "Come on, Cupcake. The boys miss you."

She pushed against him, grinning. "Well the girls don't miss you."

His hand went to his chest. "Ouch, you wound me Cupcake."

Steph laughed. "Yeah I seriously doubt that." She teased.

"You know we're better as friends, right?" Joe confessed.

Steph grinned and nodded. "You're right. We are much better as friends."

"Friends with benefits?" Joe asked hopefully.

That made her laugh. "I don't think so, Morelli." She punched his arm playfully.

He laughed. "Hey! A guy had to try."

She rolled her eyes. "I do love you though."

Joe's eyes got round. "I love you too, Cupcake. Always have and always will."

She gave him a hug and that he gladly returned. He kissed her forehead once they stepped away from each other.

"Did you hear about Ranger?" He asked gently.

She nodded. "He's gone out of town."

"To capture a killer." Joe stated.

She nodded again. "I know."

Joe sighed. "To capture a killer that's been killing his family and friends."

She nodded a third time. "I know this."

Joe shoved his hands in his pockets. "This guy could be after you, Steph. That's why I continue to warn you away from Ranger. Him and his past is going to get you hurt or killed."

"Joe, I've constantly got someone after me that wants to hurt me or kill me. Ranger's past doesn't matter to me and as my friend, I asked that you respect that."

Joe nodded firmly. "I'm always here if you need anything. Anything at all."

She smiled at him before giving him another hug. "Thanks Joe."

And to make her day just a little bit more special, Silverman showed his face at Hope House at 4:45 that afternoon.


	3. Bad News Comes From Three

Author's Note: Here is the third chapter... however the fourth chapter will not be posted until next Wednesday which will become my regular day of posting. Thank you so much to the reviewers of my previous chapter. I've been busy writing so I haven't been able to respond. The story alerts and author alerts keep pouring in.. thank you so much! You guys are amazing!

Disclaimer: Not mine and I am NOT making any money.

Chapter Three  
Bad News Comes From Three

She had two more days before Dale Silverman's bond was up. However that didn't bother her at all. She had been at Hope House every morning the past five days to watch him walk out at five after nine and she was there to watch him come back every day at 4:45. He was more predictable than the sun rising and setting every day. She knew exactly what she was going to do to capture his ass and put him back in police custody. And today was that day. She was a little sluggish from not sleeping all week, but she had confidence in herself to get the job done.

"When we gonna do this, White Girl?" Lula asked becoming impatient.

And she had Lula with her for a distraction. Okay so clearly it wasn't the perfect plan but she had faith in it and she had faith in partner.

Steph checked her watch. It was four exactly. It was time to set up. "Are you sure you got this?" Steph questioned her one more time.

Lula let out an exaggerated sigh. "I got this white girl, but are you sure you don't want me to shoot him."

Steph rolled her eyes. "No shooting him. Just make sure he doesn't turn around. He can't see me."

"Shooting him would be easier." Lula replied.

She nodded. "And illegal."

Lula shrugged. "Technically."

She gave Lula a 'what' look. "No technically about it. Shooting him would be illegal."

Another sigh left her mouth. "Fine."

Steph got out of Lula's red firebird and made her way to her hiding place. Next to Hope House was an old building that was falling apart. It had no doors and no windows, just the opening where doors and windows should be. She was going to hide in there and wait for Silverman. Lula was going to get out of the car and approach him, keeping his attention away from Steph creeping up behind him. She was going to zap him with the stun gun before he realized she was there. She just hoped Lula kept his attention long enough.

Steph had been waiting for thirty minutes when Dale suddenly walked up. For the first in a week, he was there early. Thankfully they were already set up and that she had showed Lula a picture of Dale. She let out a sigh of relief when Lula exited the car. She couldn't see Dale's face, but he stopped in his tracks. She guessed she would have stopped too once seeing Lula. Her shoes, skin-tight skirt and hair were hot pink in color while her leggings and spandex top were lime green and hot pink striped. Lula was definitely a vision in pink.

"Hey Cutie." Dale called out.

Steph grinned to herself. Dale liked Lula. Yes! This was a great plan.

Lula sashayed up to Dale with a wide smile. "Hiya Handsome." She nodded towards Hope House. "You live here?" She asked.

He gave a noncommittal shrug. "Temporary inconvenience." He replied.

Steph stepped out of the abandoned house and silently made her way towards the pair. Dale was so intrigued by Lula, he didn't even hear the gravel crunch beneath her feet. She had her stun gun ready and it was fully charged.

"I don't usually go for prostitutes, but for you I'll definitely make an exception." She heard Dale say as he stepped closer to Lula.

Lula's eyes narrowed and she huffed out a breath. Steph could see the wheels in her head turning so Steph took a leap (literally) of faith, pressed the prongs of the stun gun against his bare neck and pressed the button. Dale went down like a stack of bricks.

"Did ya hear what fat boy called me? He called me a ho and normally I don't take offense but something about the way he said it and he was looking at me all funny."

Steph hooked her arms under his armpits and started to drag him towards Lula's firebird. "Um… a little help here." Steph interrupted Lula's rant.

"He's gonna be a heavy one."

"Yeah." Steph agreed.

Twenty minutes later and another stun to Dale's arm, they had him in her car. They were both covered in sweat. The car ride to the cop shop was done in silence as the air conditioner droned on. It wasn't exactly air conditioner season, being March and all but they were both hot after dragging and heaving Dale over thirty feet to Lula's car.

Back at the bonds office, Connie cut them both a check. Since Lula helped, Steph wanted to make sure she got her cut of the money.

"Thanks Connie." Steph replied, putting her check in her pocketbook.

"You should be thanking me! I'm the one that pays you." Vinnie yelled from inside his office.

Connie cursed. "Where's the damn bug, you asshole."

They heard Vinnie laugh. "You're never find it."

It took them ten minutes but they finally located it under Connie's calculator. Connie motioned for them to be quiet and cover their ears. Their eyes went wide when Connie pulled a fog horn from her purse. She chuckled softly as she squeezed the handle and made it go off. Steph grimaced as the sound still reached her ears, but started laughing when they heard a crash coming from Vinnie's office. His door swung open, hitting the wall hard. He came out covering his ears and cursing up a streak. They could see his chair on its back and papers were everywhere, covering the floor. Vinnie threw them all a deadly look before stomping out of the bonds office.

The three girls collapsed in a fit of giggles.

"What on earth made you think of a fog horn?" Steph asked.

Connie shrugged. "I found it at a flea market and immediately thought of Vinnie."

"I'm really glad you did. That was hilarious."

Connie grinned. "Yeah I know. Maybe now he'll think again before planting another one of those damned bugs."

Steph doubted it, but she didn't say anything. "I've got to get to the bank before it closes. I need food." Steph spoke, hinting that she was leaving.

"What's you got planned for tonight, White Girl. I could use a night out."

Steph shook her head. She hated turning her down, especially since this was the third night in a row, but she was too tired and Lula always eventually brought up Ranger. She couldn't deal with the questions about Ranger. She was honestly surprised they haven't asked her today. But it was still early.

"Not tonight, but maybe tomorrow."

Lula frowned. "You've been saying that every night. What's going on, Girl?"

"Yeah, what's going on?" Connie chimed in. "Does this have to do with Ranger?" Connie asked.

Steph sighed. And there it was. "Nothing is going on. Just tired. I'll talk to ya later." Before they could protest or ask any more questions, she high tailed it out of the bonds office.

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Back at her apartment, Steph unpacked her groceries and put them away. She got the staples such as peanut butter, olives, bread, and beer. She also got popcorn, ice cream, carrots, chips, cookies, deli ham, deli cheese, crackers, cheese crackers, soda, bottled water, frozen pizza, hot dogs, milk, hamster pellets, and several boxes of cereal because you could never go wrong with cereal. Oh and she bought several different boxes of Tasty Kakes and Little Debbie cakes. For emergencies of course. Alright a few bags of those mini candy bars. She was having a chocolate craving so she went a little crazy. No harm done… not yet anyway. She was glad to see that her cabinets and her refrigerator were full once again.

Even after all that shopping, her mind was still on Ranger and his whereabouts. She hadn't heard from Tank or any other of the RangeMan guys since the day Ranger left for unknown territory. At least it was unknown territory for her. She wanted to know if Tank had heard from Ranger in this past week, but she wasn't sure if she should call Tank to find out. Grabbing her phone, she decided she should call Tank. Maybe she would get some answers.

"Yo."

"Hey Tank!" Steph greeted him with a smile.

She could instantly hear the smile in his voice. "Hey Little Girl, what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" He asked.

"Well… um… I was wondering if you've heard anything from Ranger or about Ranger." She asked nervously.

Tank let out an exasperated breath. "Oh Bomber, you know I won't hear from Ranger for several months. That's how it usually is, you know that." He replied gently.

She licked her lips and resisted the urge to cry. "I know, I just…"

"What's going on, Steph? You in some kind of trouble? I can help you know."

"Oh no, nothing like that, Tank. It's just that this time feels really different."

Tank made a noise that she didn't know how to interpret. "Probably because this time it's personal for him, Steph."

She wanted to weep, but she resisted. "You're right. I'm sorry to bother you, Tank."

"You're never a bother, Little Girl. Please call me at any time you want."

She smiled despite the overwhelming sadness she was feeling. "Thanks Tank, I will."

"He's going to be fine, Steph. You'll see." Tank stated suddenly. She swear she heard someone in the background and the word liar but she couldn't be sure before Tank quickly said good bye and hung up. Wait, Tank said good-bye. She should have immediately suspected something, but all she wanted to focus on was his words that Ranger was going to be fine. She had to remember that.

She shook off her phone call with Tank and fixed a peanut butter and olive sandwich with chips. She grabbed a beer and along with her sandwich and chips, she plopped down in the living room and turned on Ghostbusters. The one movie she knew she could count on.

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Today was Saturday. A whole week since Steph had called Tank. Only a week, but it felt like a life time. Today she was spending the day with her nieces Mary Alice, Angie, and Lisa who just turned four. She still wasn't sure what they were going to do or how she was going to handle three rumbustious girls with hardly any sleep, but she had faith in herself. She hadn't spent the day with her nieces in such a long time, she was sure she had forgotten what they look like.

However today was all about them. All three of them had inherited their mother and their aunt's excessive need to shop so she was giving them each fifty bucks to spend any way they wanted. Then it was dinner and dessert at the local Dairy Queen. She would probably come home exhausted and actually be able to sleep. Just one reason why she planned this day out with her nieces.

A knock on her door signaled their arrival. Okay and the girlish giggles and squeals gave it away as well. She opened her door with a smile on her face.

"Hey girls! Who's ready to shop today?" She asked with excitement.

They spoke up and squealed making Steph laugh. She gave them each a hug and a kiss on the cheek before turning to her older sister, giving her the same treatment.

"Are you sure you'll be okay, Steph?" Valerie asked. "They're a real handful." She added, worried.

Steph shrugged it off. "They'll be fine. I'll be fine. I need this and they do too."

Valerie nodded looking a little relieved. "Are you sure you don't want some money. They can be real expensive too."

She laughed. "Val, I got this. I promise. Today is my treat with my nieces."

Valerie gave her another hug, squeezing her into a squeak. "Thank you so much!"

She gave each of her girls a hug, a kiss, and a quick reminder to behave before she was out the door, fire on her heels. Steph chuckled at her sister as she turned her focus on her beautiful nieces. "Alright girls, today is all about you so here's what we're going to do. We're going to the mall and I'm giving you each fifty bucks to spend any way you want."

Yells of happiness and pure girl filled Steph's small apartment. "But…" She spoke sharply and a little louder than normal to get their attention. Once she had it, she added, "You must behave and listen to me. If you don't, then I'll cut our day short and we will not have dinner and dessert at Dairy Queen. Are we clear?"

They all gave her an affirmative. "Good. Now let's go."

They made it to the mall without any problems. Steph saw that as a good sign. She really wanted today to go well. And well, sometimes disaster followed her no matter where she went.

"Where to first?" She asked.

"Claire's" Both Angie and Mary Alice stated at once.

Steph smiled. "Claire's it is."

All three girls spent ten dollars at Claire's. Mary Alice and Angie on earrings and Lisa decided on a cool pair of sunglasses and hair ties. They went to Dunkin' Donuts next where Steph treated them to a special donut of their choice. From there they had to stop at Auntie Anne's Pretzels because it was right next door to the donuts. They shared a cinnamon sugar pretzel before heading to the Godiva chocolate store. She only let the girls spend five dollars because let's face it, they could easily spend lots of money on chocolate. Especially since she spent twenty there herself. Hey, she loved chocolate. They visited several store without buying anything before heading upstairs. The first store they hit upstairs was Forever 21, where Mary Alice and Angie spent their remaining thirty-five dollars. Their next stop was Justice, a clothing shop for little girls. Lisa spent her remaining money on two cute little dresses. Oh how she loved her nieces.

They talked her into stopping at Macy's and then preceded into talking her in to buying two outfits for herself. And four pairs of shoes. And a jacket. And several pairs of cute little jammies. Her nieces were going to send her to the poor house. Before leaving the Mall, they stopped off at Starbucks and she got them a double chocolate chunk iced drink. She refused to buy them coffee, but chocolate could never be refused. After leaving the mall, she took them to dinner at Dairy Queen like she promised. Chicken strips and French fries and blizzards was their dinner. She dropped them off at home with their shopping bags. She gave them a kiss goodbye and a hug.

"We'll have to do this again. I had fun." She told her sister as the girls went screaming off to their rooms.

"I definitely enjoyed myself, but next time let me give you a little money. I had no idea you were going to buy them clothes." Her sister sounded a tad bit upset.

"Relax, Val. I gave them a little bit of money to spend. They're my nieces and I have that right." She told her.

She left her sister's house with Valerie still upset. She couldn't understand why she was upset. It was Steph's money and she could spend it the way she wanted. Without a car payment, she was doing okay right now. Her sister would have to get over it because she would definitely do it again.

Steph went home, fixed a peanut butter and olive sandwich and tried to go to sleep. Sleep however evaded her at every turn. So she spent her night channel surfing.

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It was April Fool's Day and she wanted to scream. This day had not gone as planned at all. She was coming home for third time that day. Each time worse than the time before. The first time, the skip she was after, tossed a bag of garbage at her. Normally not so bad, this time it sucked. The bag was filled with rotten eggs. Of course it was full of other garbage, but the rotten egg smell was still with her. Even after two showers, she could still smell rotten eggs. Ugh!

The second time she came home, she was covered in horse manure. All because of another skip. What was wrong with these damned people? The guy worked at a horse farm so she had went out there thinking maybe he would be pleasant and easy to deal with because that's what she had heard about him. Instead she got pushed into a pile of manure. Thank God, she had brought Big Blue instead of her baby. Because it then got covered in horse manure so now she had a car to clean.

Now the third time she was coming home, she was just plain tired and achy. She just wished one day all her skips would just hand cuff themselves and take themselves to the police station. This time she wasn't covered in anything, but she couldn't deal with another skip today. She was tired, beyond tired. Not getting any sleep in almost three weeks was enough to make anyone cranky. But the asshole had pushed her into a pile of barbed wire, tearing her jeans, her t-shirt, and covering her in tiny scratches. She just wanted a hot shower; another hot shower and maybe an hour or two of sleep. That wasn't too much to ask. At least she didn't think so.

She entered her apartment and felt their presences immediately. She looked up and to her surprise, the core team of RangeMan stared back at her. The look on their faces sent her spidey sense into firework mode and her stomach heaved on her. They didn't seem to be looking at her, but right through her. She was definitely scared, but as always denial land came through for her.

She marched right passed them into the kitchen, talking the whole way. "Listen guys, I've had a horrible day and I want nothing to do with anything but falling into a shower and then into a bed. I'm tired, I'm sore, I'm achy, and I still stink of rotten eggs so we can do this tomorrow. Whatever this is."

After grabbing a bottle of water, she turned around to see that Tank, Lester, and Bobby followed her into the kitchen. Their faces of doom were giving her the willies.

"What's going on? Is this about me doing a distraction or work –."

"Steph, we don't know how to say this…" Tank started but trailed off. Bobby stepped closer to her, slowly as if not to spook her.

She was suddenly finding it hard to take a breath; to breathe. Her spidey sense was screaming at her and her head started to pound. Shaking her head, she tried to back up, the water bottle falling to the floor as her hands came up in surrender as if to ward off any bad news they were trying to give her but the counter stopped her movement. Tears blurred her vision, but she saw Tank reach out towards her. She pushed his hands away.

Through her tears, she saw him flinch. "Stephanie, I'm sorry. Ranger's –."

"NO!" Steph shouted. "Don't say it." She pleaded with Tank as she sank to her knees.

"Ranger's gone, Steph. He's dead."


	4. Steph's Pain

Author's Note: Okay.. so I know I said I wasn't going to update until next Wednesday but the response I got from chapter 3 made me speed up my posting. I know the shock of chapter 3 will probably make a lot of you want to stop reading, but I ask that you not give up on me or this story. I've had this idea in my head for so long and I'm so happy that I'm finally getting it out there. This story will have a HEA, but it is not a Cupcake story and it is not a Tart story. This is about Steph finding herself, discovering herself. So please bare with me and enjoy. I promise you'll enjoy it! Thanks!

Warning: Tissue Warning! :-(

Chapter Four  
Steph's Pain

"Steph, we don't know how to say this…" Tank started but trailed off. Bobby stepped closer to her, slowly as if not to spook her.

She was suddenly finding it hard to take a breath; to breathe. Her spidey sense was screaming at her and her head started to pound. Shaking her head, she tried to back up, the water bottle falling to the floor as her hands came up in surrender as if to ward off any bad news they were trying to give her but the counter stopped her movement. Tears blurred her vision, but she saw Tank reach out towards her. She pushed his hands away.

Through her tears, she saw him flinch. "Stephanie, I'm sorry. Ranger's –."

"NO!" Steph shouted. "Don't say it." She pleaded with Tank as she sank to her knees.

"Ranger's gone, Steph. He's dead." Tank spoke anyways.

Steph screamed in agony as if it her very soul was being ripped from her body. She screamed as the pain of Tank's words ripped through her heart. She screamed for everything that was lost. Not only for her, but for Ranger. And then when Lester tried to take her into his arms, she pummeled him with her fists. He let her. He let her beat him until she completely exhausted herself, busting his nose and lip in the process. Once she exhausted herself, she collapsed in Lester's arms and cried. She cried until her eyes swelled shut and her nose stuffed up so bad she had trouble breathing. When she began to choke, Bobby spoke up.

"Should we sedate her?" He asked concerned.

She felt Lester move. "Not yet. Give her time to adjust to it."

She tensed at his wording. Adjust to Ranger's death? How could she adjust to never talking to him again? To never hearing his voice? To never hearing him call her babe? To never seeing him again? Never seeing him give her the wolfish smile or that two hundred watt grin? And to never –

She suddenly pulled herself from Lester's arms and got up, heading towards the bathroom. She washed her face, swallowed back another round of tears and stomped back into the kitchen where all three men haven't moved.

"I want to see him." She demanded.

They all three exchanged looks before facing Steph. "Steph…" Tank started to protest.

She cut Tank off. "I don't want to hear excuses. If you want me to believe that the man I lo –." She paused to take a deep breath. "If you want me to believe that Ranger is really dead, then I want to see him."

They once more exchanged a look that she didn't understand. "Beautiful, Ranger was caught in an explosion. There's nothing to –." Lester broke off and stormed out of the kitchen.

Steph took a deep breath, trying to hold back the tears. "I thought – I thought he was going in the wind to catch a killer. To catch the man that was killing his family. What… I mean… I don't…"

Tank pulled her into his arms. "Ranger was staying in a safe house that had been compromised and he didn't know it. A man in his past rigged the explosion to occur a few seconds after Ranger stepped into the foyer. He never had a chance."

Something told Steph he was lying. Maybe it was her spidey sense telling her, but something was off. She pulled back to look at Tank. "Are you three lying to me? Is this some colossal joke or something?" She questioned.

Tank cringed, shaking his head. "No joke, Stephanie."

She nodded slowly but something still felt weird. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bobby moving closer. "Um… Steph, why don't you let me look at those cuts? Some of them look pretty bad."

She shot him a glare, but then frowned. She had completely forgotten about the cuts and scratches covering her body. She didn't really care, but Bobby was here. Anything to keep her mind off Ranger. She nodded. "Fine. I'm going to go take a quick shower and change into something easy accessible. For the cuts." She replied, turning on her heel and going into her bedroom. She could hear Tank, Lester, and Bobby talking heatedly amongst themselves but she couldn't make out the words. Right now, she just didn't care. All she wanted to do was throw herself on the floor and cry her heart out. She wanted to scream at the outrage that someone she loved so much had been taken from her so early. She wanted to scream at herself for not realizing sooner how much she truly loved, wanted, and needed her man in black; her batman.

After stripping, she stepped into the shower and came face to face with Ranger's shower gel. Before she could stop, she dropped to the cold shower floor and began to cry. She grabbed the bottle from the shelf and breathed in Ranger's scent. She choked out a sob and let the tears fall. She was pretty sure she screamed and when the core team came running, she knew she had. She cried as one of them wrapped her in a towel and dried her off. She cried as they carried her into her bedroom and laid her gently down onto the bed. She cried as one of them dressed her. She cried as one of them took her into his arms and rocked her, soothing her with Spanish words and caresses to her wet hair.

"Should we sedate her now?" She heard Bobby ask through her sobs.

She didn't hear any reply but a moment later, she felt the prick of a needle. As the medicine began to do its job, she heard Tank harshly whisper.

"I think I just might kill that son of a bitch."

As the blackness quickly took her over and she welcomed it with open arms, she silently wondered who Tank meant.

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Steph gave up and threw her foundation into the sink. No amount of make-up was going to hide the shadows under her eyes. And even if she did accomplish that, it wasn't going to hide the fact that her eyes were blood shot from crying and no sleeping.

When she woke up from Bobby's sedation, she ordered them all out of her apartment. She didn't want any witnesses to her pain. Once they left, she flew into a rage. She had never felt the kind of pain before and nothing seem to make it go away. She had only broken a few dishes and her television set, but she didn't care. She just wanted to stop the pain. Crying didn't seem to help and she had done plenty of crying in the past three days since they told her that Ranger was –

She took a deep breath and fought more tears. Today was Ranger's funeral and she refused to cry at his funeral. She didn't want people to see how vulnerable she was right now. She didn't want people to see how much his death truly affected her. She wanted to be strong. For Ranger.

So after talking to herself for most of the morning, she finally decided to slip into a little black dress, one of Ranger's favorites, and go to his funeral. She didn't do anything special to her hair, just leaving it down to caress her shoulders. She was wearing flats and just a little make-up. She was sure Ranger would approve.

She drove her Kia to the funeral home, she actually parked far away from the entrance as possible. She walked quickly in and was immediately bombarded. People she didn't know were hugging her and telling her that they were sorry. Some even spoke in Spanish. Who were all these people? Looking around she spotted Lester at the same time he spotted her. He made his way through all the people towards her, pulling her into his arms. Steph refused to cry as she hugged him back.

"How are you doing?" He asked, muffled against her hair.

She shrugged. "I'm fine."

"You can talk to me, Steph." Lester told her, pulling back to look into her eyes.

She nodded and tried to give him a tight smile. "I'm fine."

He opened his mouth to say something else, but she shook her head and yanked herself away from him. "I'm fine, Lester." She stated before walking away.

The funeral home was filled with people, so she stood in the back of the room as the minister spoke. She didn't hear anything he said and she didn't really care either. She was too numb to care.

She drove out to the cemetery on auto pilot and watched from her car as the minister spoke again and then she cried as she watched them lower his empty casket into the ground.

"Good-bye Ranger. I love you." She spoke softly.

She didn't remember driving home. She didn't remember walking to her apartment or letting herself in. She didn't eat or even undress, she just flung herself onto the bed and cried. She didn't hear anyone knocking and she didn't hear her front door open. She felt the bed dip next to her, but she just didn't care. She hoped they were here to kill her.

She heard a male sigh. "I'm not here to kill you, Little Girl."

She buried her head deeper into the covers and ignored Tank. Maybe he would go away.

"I'm not going away until you look at me. I've got something for you."

"I don't want it." She grumbled.

"Stephanie, please look at me."

She sighed and turned her head to look at Tank. He looked like shit. His eyes were blood shot, he looked tired, and to be honest he looked pissed. His clothes were wrinkled and disheveled. But at this particular moment in time, Steph didn't care. She wanted to be left alone.

"What do you want?"

He held out a large, thick envelope and Steph cringed as if it might bite her. He pushed it towards her. "Take it." He said.

Steph shook her head. "I don't want it." She bit out harshly.

"It's from Ranger, Steph. He wanted me to give it to you if –." She heard him swallow. "He wanted you to have it."

She shook her head. "I don't want it, Tank."

Tank sighed. "Please take it, Steph." He sounded almost desperate.

"If I take it… will you leave?"

Tank nodded. "I'll leave. For now."

Steph plucked the envelope from Tank's hand. It was heavy. Steph knew what it was and she didn't want any part of it, but she took it to make him leave.

"I've taken it, Tank. You can now rest in peace. Now please leave me the fuck alone." She hissed.

He sighed and nodded. Bending down, he kissed her on the top of her head. "I'm sorry about all this, Steph and I hope one day you can forgive me." He replied against her hair.

Steph didn't reply. She waited until she heard the front door slam before she opened the envelope. She pulled a small piece of paper and two stacks of cash. Holy fuck! That was a lot of cash. What the hell had Ranger been thinking? She turned the piece of paper over and the words written were in Ranger's deep, neat scrawl and she started crying all over again.

'Take the money, Babe. Take the money and Fly'

R&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&S

A week had passed since Ranger's funeral. She hadn't left her apartment since that terrible day. Food just magically appeared in her cabinets, food for Rex as well. She didn't know why the food kept appearing. Her refrigerator was full of Pino's meatball subs and pizzas, Cluck in a Bucket's chicken, donuts, and Shorty's pizza. She didn't care to eat. She didn't have the will to eat. She was too numb to care. Too numb to care that she hadn't had a shower in days or even brush her teeth. She was pretty sure someone else was feeding Rex. And someone had cleaned up her apartment after she went on her little rage.

At least once a day, a knock would come on her front door. And each time she would ignore it. They would eventually give up and go away. Her reaction was always the same. She didn't have any reaction. Again, she just didn't care.

She heard her apartment door open and then Joe Morelli was standing in front of her. She gave him a dirty look. "What do you want, Joe?" She asked with bite.

Joe sat down next to her. "No one has seen you around lately, Steph. We're all worried about you. I'm worried about you, Cupcake."

"I'm fine, Joe. You can leave now."

She wanted –no she needed him to leave. She couldn't cry in front of Joseph Morelli.

"You're not fine, Steph. Please talk to someone. Talk to me." He begged her.

She swallowed hard and met Joe's dark brown eyes. Her own eyes filled with tears. Joe felt like crying himself. "Oh sweetheart, come here." He folded her into his arms and once again she let the tears fall. Joe rocked her back and forth as she sobbed her heart out… again. She just couldn't stop crying.

"I'm so sorry, Steph. I know you loved him. I know he met a lot to you. I know there's nothing any of us can say to ease the pain, but I'm so sorry, Cupcake."

He continued to whisper soothing words as she cried herself to sleep.

R&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&S

She wasn't sure how long she actually slept but when she did finally wake up, Joe was gone and in his place was Tank. She immediately frowned, giving him a dirty look.

"Leave." She ordered.

He snorted, shaking his head. "Not going to happen, Steph. We need to talk."

"I don't want to talk to anyone."

Tank sighed and tossed a packet of papers on her coffee table. She looked at the papers before looking at Tank. "What are those?" She finally asked.

"Papers signing Ranger's half of RangeMan over to you." He stated softly.

Steph gasped. "What?"

"Ranger gave you his half of RangeMan. All you need to do is sign those papers to make it official."

Steph shook her head. "I don't want it."

He took a deep breath. "It's yours, Steph. Ranger wanted you to have it."

"I don't fucking WANT IT!" She ended up shouting. She didn't want to shout, but she didn't want anything else from Ranger. She didn't want his money, his cars, his business or his name. She just wanted his love. Why couldn't any of them see that?

"Stephanie, he wanted you to have it. He knew he could trust you to—" Tank stopped and took another deep breath. "He wants you to be okay. He wants you to be happy."

Standing up, she shook her head. "I don't want his business. I'll just sign it over to you."

Tank grunted. "You can't sign it over to me. It's in the paperwork."

Steph shrugged. "Then I'll sign it over to Lester."

Tank growled out his frustration. "It's yours, Stephanie. You can't sign it over to get rid of us. So just fucking DEAL WITH IT!" Tank raising his voice was rare and Steph flinched from his booming tone.

Steph couldn't handle anymore. "Deal with it? DEAL WITH IT? How can I fucking deal with it? How can I deal with it knowing that the man I love is fucking dead? I can't deal with it, Tank. Not right now. I just want to grieve. I want to grieve my own way. Why can't any of you see that?" Tears filled her eyes and sank back down onto to the couch. "I loved him more than life and he's gone, Tank. He's gone. He's fucking gone."

As heart-wrenching sobs tore from her body, Tank gathered her in his arms. "I'm so sorry, Steph. I'm so so sorry." He whispered over and over again until once again she cried herself to sleep.

R&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&S

Another week had passed before Steph finally decided she needed to get out of her apartment. Her rent being due may have had something to do with that decision, but it was time. She took a shower and found a clean pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt. She grabbed her bag with her handcuffs, stun gun, and threw in her gun. She walked out the door with her head held high.

She stopped by the Tasty Pastry first to grab some donuts. Just because she wasn't eating didn't mean she couldn't show up at the bonds office without donuts. She told the lady behind the glass what she wanted. Katie Mansfield just stared at her.

"What?" Steph asked a little too harshly.

Katie cringed. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry about Ra—."

Steph cut her off. "It's okay. Just please get me my donuts."

Katie nodded and went about receiving Steph's order. Once Steph paid for her donuts, she practically ran out of the Tasty Pastry. She was then accosted outside of the Tasty Pastry on the way to her car. She hated being rude, but she didn't want to be reminded of … she just doesn't want to be reminded. She pulled up in front of the bonds office and went inside.

She immediately knew going to the bonds office was a huge mistake. Connie and Lula descended on her like a pair of vultures. Oh they meant well, but the 'I'm so sorry' and the 'Are you okay' and the 'Is there anything we can do to help' just made Steph want to scream. She shoved the donuts into Lula's empty hands and ran out of the bonds office.

She cried all the way home.


	5. The Scent Of Love

Author's Note: WOW! The response of chapter four has totally floored me. AND I LOVED IT! Thank you so so so much for your reviews, your story alerts, your author alerts, and adding me and this story to your favorites. You all are completely amazing and I love ya all for it! As that being said... I hope you continue to stick with me... the next several chapters are going to be ... not as expected. I don't want to give anything away. Please stick with me. Thanks Again!

And because the response of chapter 4, I worked hard the last two days to put out chapter 5.. :-)

Chapter Five  
The Scent Of Love

It was May first. A whole month had passed since Tank, Lester, and Bobby dropped the worst news she had ever received in her lap. Her life had barely ceased to exist. She rarely went outside her apartment. She hated going anywhere. She was constantly bombarded with people wanting to tell her how sorry they were and blah blah blah. She didn't give a shit. She just wanted to be left alone. Connie and Lula were finally taking the hint and leaving her be and not mentioning Ranger. She barely talk to anyone, she just wasn't able to yet. She hadn't seen her family since before…

She barely ate. Almost every time she took a shower, she ended up on the floor sniffing his shower gel and sobbing. So she only took showers when needed. It wasn't that she wanted to live like this, because she didn't. She tried almost every day to get up and go on with her life. To go back to picking up skips, hanging out with her friends, and eating dinner at her parents, but it was impossible. She couldn't go a day without being reminded of Ranger. As soon as he entered her head, she started crying all over again.

She knew others were grieving as well. As someone pointed out to her, she knew Ranger had other family and friends and they too were grieving. But how could she give them a soothing word when all she felt like doing was crying or screaming in absolute outrage of how wrong it was that his life was taken so soon. She wanted to hunt down the prick who dare take Ranger from her, but if he so easily took out Ranger than what chance in hell did she have. So she was at her wits end. She wanted out.

She pulled up in front of her parents' place and actually smiled when she saw her mother on the front stoop. Today, she had come to see her mother. She wasn't sure how she would be greeted, but she needed her mom. As she walked towards her, she prepared herself for a lot of things but she wasn't prepared for what happened. Her mother opened her arms and pulled Steph into a hug. Helen squeezed her daughter.

"I'm so sorry, Sweetie." Her mother whispered.

Steph started crying all over again. They stood at the entrance of her childhood home and while her mother held her in her arms, Steph cried. Deep gut wrenching sobs that shook her whole body. Her mother just held her close and told her to cry it all out. She didn't tell her that it would all be alright or it would eventually get better with time or her all-time favorite, he's in a better place. Nope, her wonderful mother just told her to cry all she wanted as she held her close.

When Steph was finally able to stop crying, her mother urged her into the house and towards the kitchen. As Stephanie sat down, her mother went to pulling things out of the refrigerator and cabinets. Before long Steph had a huge ham sandwich in front of her with a giant piece of chocolate cake, pineapple upside down cake, and a tall glass of chocolate milk. Steph ate the ham sandwich first, drinking most of the milk as she did. While her mother refilled her glass, Steph started in on the pineapple upside cake.

"This is really good, Mom." Steph complimented.

Helen smiled at her daughter. "I'm so glad to see you eating, Honey. I apologize for this, but you look like a walking skeleton zombie." She replied tactfully.

Steph grimaced. "It's been hard to eat."

Her mother sat down next to her, patting her shoulder sympathetically. "I know. I understand, Steph. I understand exactly what you're going through."

Steph looked up in surprise. "You do?"

She nodded. "I do."

Steph abandoned the half gone cake and gave her mother her full attention. "You mean with Grandpa?"

Helen shook her head. "I was married before your father."

Steph's eyes widened in surprise. "You were?"

She nodded then. "I was."

"But I didn't know and I don't think Valerie knows either."

"No she doesn't know. I never told anyone but your father and well your Grandmother knows too, but it was only for a few months so I just decided not to speak of it."

Steph finished her chocolate milk. "What happened?"

"As I said we were only married a few months before he was shipped off overseas. About a month after he left, I got word that he had been killed during duty. I loved him terribly and when I got word of his death, I was inconsolable. I did the same thing you've been doing, Steph."

"Really?"

Helen nodded. "Oh yes. I refuse to eat. I could barely sleep. I refuse to see anyone; friend or otherwise. I refused any comfort anyone tried to give me."

"How long was it before you met daddy?"

"It was a little over a year later before I met your father."

Steph pursued her lips. "Does it get any easier?"

Her mother frowned, shaking her head. "I wish I could tell you that the pain goes away and it gets easier with time, but Honey the pain never goes away. It will always be there. But it does get easier with time. It will always hurt, Stephanie, but the only way to live life is learn to live through the pain. As days go by, you find ways to live with that pain. And only then it will it become bearable."

She let out a sigh. "How can I learn to live with the pain when I'm reminded daily of Ranger? Everything reminds me of him and people are constantly coming up to me with their apologies."

"Stephanie, did you love him?"

Tears filled her eyes and she nodded. "I didn't realize how much I really loved until –."

Her mother gave her another hug. "I know. It's shitty, isn't it?" She said once she pulled back to look at her daughter.

Steph gasped. She had never heard her mother say any curse word. It shocked her and it made her smile. "It's totally shitty, Mom. I loved him so so much. So much that just the thought of never seeing him takes my very breath."

Helen touched a palm to her daughter's cheek. "As you love him, he'll always be with you."

"You think?"

"I know."

"Would you be upset if I decided to leave Trenton?"

"Oh honey, of course I won't. I know you've got to get out. Maybe getting out will help you heal. Just promise me one thing."

"What?"

"That you'll come home eventually."

Steph smiled and nodded. "That I can definitely promise."

"Good." Her mother jumped out of her chair and disappeared. She heard her going upstairs and then to their bedroom before she descended back down the steps and into the kitchen. She handed Steph a piece of paper. No, she handed her a check for ten thousand dollars.

"Mom! What is this?"

Her mother flushed. "Well you know your father and I don't live a lavish lifestyle so when Valerie first told us she was pregnant, we opened a savings account for their college. We've save quite a bit and your father and I would like for you to take it. See the world, live a little, have fun, and mourn your friend."

Once again, Steph found herself crying. She gave her mother a huge hug. "Thank you, Mom, but I can't take it." She tried handing the check back. "Really Mom, I'll be fine. Ranger gave me some money."

"And if I know you, you don't want to spend it."

Steph nodded sheepishly. "I don't want to, but he did give it to me so…"

Helen pushed the check towards her daughter. "Take the money. Go see the world. Grieve and heal in your own way."

She gave her mother another hug. "Thanks Mom."

Helen pulled back, holding her upper arms to look her daughter in the eyes. "I know we haven't always seen eye to eye and I can be a nag, but I love you, Stephanie Michelle. You're my daughter and I love you more than anything. You're strong, Stephanie and I know it's going to be hard, but you're going to be okay. I know it."

Steph smiled through another haze of tears. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too."

R&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&S

Steph gave the camera her signature finger wave and a small smile. She knew she had to talk to Tank before she could make her final decision. She needed to say good bye to Ranger as well. A more of a final good bye and she was here to get that as well. She stepped off the elevator and headed towards Tank's office. She was stopped by Cal, Ram, Zip, and Woody before she could get there. They gave her hugs and kisses to the cheek. They didn't mention Ranger, but she did. She told them she knew they were grieving for their boss and their friend. They smiled tightly and gave her another hug. She hated that they were all suffering.

She knocked on Tank's office door.

"Come in, Little Girl."

Steph entered, giving Tank a hug upon entry. Tank returned her hug with eagerness. Once they parted, Tank took a seat behind his desk and Steph the chair opposite him.

"What do I owe the pleasure of this visit? Not that I'm complaining. It's great to see you."

Steph smiled softly. She could see visibly the effects of Ranger's death was on Tank. He was tired. He looked softer almost. She had been a very rude friend and she hated herself for it.

"Well, I wanted to talk about RangeMan."

Tank looked almost relieved. "You're going to sign the papers?"

Steph chewed on her bottom lip. "I wanted to ask about Ranger's will. I mean… I don't want anything of his, but…"

Tank interrupted her. "Ranger's lawyer was told you weren't obligated to be at the Will's reading."

"Is that legal?"

Tank cocked an eyebrow. "This is Ranger, we're talking about."

Steph gave him a grin. "That's true. What about his family? You guys?"

"You don't have to worry about any of them, Steph. Ranger didn't forget any of his family or his friends."

"Are you sure?" She asked skeptically.

Tank nodded. "I'm positive, Steph. Don't worry."

"What about the envelope that you gave me?"

Suddenly, Tank looked uncomfortable. "Ranger gave that to me before he left. He always gives me one before he leaves and I return it to him once he returns."

Steph knew he wasn't speaking the full truth, but she didn't call him on it. "So… about RangeMan?"

"Do you have the papers?" He asked.

Steph pulled them from her pocket book. "I haven't signed them. I haven't even read them."

Tank frowned. "Why?"

She shrugged. "I wanted you to tell me what I'll be taking over once I sign these papers."

"Well… you'll have final say in everyone we hire and fire. You'll have final say in everything from the clients' contracts, the clients themselves, business supplies, raises. You'll have say in everything. Not to mention Ranger's apartment on seven is now yours and his office is yours. Um… all is his cars are now yours along with the business account." Tank rubbed the back of his neck. "You're also in full possession of his personal account."

Steph grimaced. She didn't want his damn money. "Um… do I have to be here for all that?" She questioned.

Tank was confused. She could see it on his face. "I don't understand."

"I want to leave Trenton. I want to travel a little bit, get away from everything that reminds me of Ranger."

Tank looked extremely uncomfortable now. He was even fidgety in his chair. "Are you sure you want to leave Trenton?"

Steph nodded. "And I'm telling you so you won't track my every move. But I'm thinking since that was Ranger's orders and he's not here to give them anymore that won't be a problem."

If anything Tank got even more uncomfortable. "You want to leave Trenton?"

Steph slowly nodded. "I need to get away so we need to figure out some way that I can do that."

"Well we don't need to hire any more help right now and Ranger just gave raises so I guess everything else can be done through email and phone conversations."

"And fax." Steph added.

Tank nodded. "Yes and fax. Do you know where you're going?"

She shook her head. "I just want to get away."

"Do you need a vehicle?"

She shook her head again. "Nope, I've got my Kia."

Tank nodded surely. "You like that car, don't you?"

Steph smiled. "Yes I do."

Tank pushed the papers toward her. "Go ahead and sign them, please."

She shook her head. "Not quite yet. There's a few more things I want to discuss before I sign them."

"Like what?"

"I don't want Ranger's office, his apartment or his cars touched. I won't be gone forever so I can use them –if I want to once I return. "

Tank smiled. "That sounds like a plan. What about the business account? I've got the right to get what's needed if that's okay."

Steph nodded. "That's fine. And everything else can be communicated by phone, email, or fax when needed."

"I'm so happy to hear that Steph."

She grabbed the pen and signed the papers.

"Welcome to RangeMan, Steph."

"Thanks Big Guy."

R&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&S

Steph entered Ranger's –and it would always be his– apartment and an immediate calm settled over her. She knew he was gone, but she could still feel his presence. It wrapped around her in a soothing manner, giving her hope for the future. She could smell him, it was almost as if he had just left that very morning. She had thought it would be eerily quiet, but she had been wrong. She just might move in here once she returned.

She passed by the living area, stopping to peer in. Nothing was out of place. She was sure that was more Ella doing than Ranger's. The kitchen too was spotless and she couldn't resist peeking into the refrigerator and the cabinets. Bottles of water lined one shelf and two six packs of beer was on the second shelf. Vegetables were in one crisper and apples and oranges were in the other one. The cabinets were filled with healthy cereals, granola bars, and cans of mix for protein shakes. She smiled at the sight. Him and his damn bark and twigs.

She left the kitchen and entered his bedroom. His smell was strongest here and she inhaled deeply. Choking back a set of tears, she opened his closet doors. Nothing had been moved. She brushed by the door and backed up when Ranger's scent filled her nostrils so strongly, she thought he was standing beside her. On the back of the door, hanging on a hook was a black hoodie jacket. She took it down and brought it to her nose. Ranger wrapped around her and she shivered. She laid the jacket on the bed and went back to the closet. She grabbed two of his Armani black silk shirts and laid those on the bed. She went through his dresser drawers, grabbing several black t-shirts and boxers. Those too found their spot on the bed.

She entered the bathroom and took another deep breath. The shower gel and Ranger's scent was strong in here too. She grabbed the bottle of Bulgari shower gel from the shower shelf and then looked under the sink. She smiled and grabbed the full bottle. She wanted to make sure she had plenty. She always felt better with Ranger's scent wrapped around her. She carried the bottles back to the bedroom and placed them on the bed. She found a duffel bag in the closet and filled it with Ranger's clothes. After dropping the duffel bag by the front door, she went back into his bedroom and stared at the bed.

She quickly dialed Tank.

"Yo."

"Hey Big Guy, is it true that Ranger's apartment is now my apartment?" Steph asked uncertainly.

"Yes." He stressed the one syllable word. "Why?"

"So I can take anything I want from it?"

"Of course. Ranger would want you to feel at home and take what you want. Why?" He asked again.

"I was just checking. Can you have Ella put fresh sheets and a new comforter on the bed? Oh and empty the crispers. Both of them are filled with fresh fruits and veggies. I don't want those going bad and stinking up the apartment."

"Um… okay. Sure, I'll tell Ella."

"Thanks Tank."

"Um… no problem." And he hang up. They all had terrible phone manners.

She folded up the comforter as best as she could and carried it down the stairs to her car. She put it in the back seat and then went back upstairs to grab the sheets and the duffel. She was able to shove the sheets in the duffel, there wasn't any more space though.

She made sure everything was turned off and headed to the front door. The only place she left alone was Ranger's home office. She just couldn't make herself go in there. She picked up the duffel bag, opening the door, she took one more last look at Ranger's apartment and said her goodbyes.

"I'm sorry I never told you. I'm sorry I never got that chance. I love you, Ranger. I love you with everything that I am and I always will. You are my heart and my soul. You are my Batman. I will never forget you, Ranger. I will always remember everything you have ever done for me and I will hold it close to my heart and cherish it always. Rest in peace, Batman. I love you."

She made it down the stairs, to her car, and all the way home without crying. Once she got to home, she grabbed the duffel bag and his blanket and entered her apartment. She carried them into her bedroom, but she dropped the duffel on the floor. She climbed onto her bed, wrapped herself in Ranger's scent, and cried until she fell into a deep sleep.


	6. Tank's Name Sake

Author's Note: It's been awhile since I've written a story for JE and I have completely forgotten the love and support you all give. It's just absolutely amazing the response this story has gotten from you all. I was only going to update on Wednesdays but you all have been just so supportive that my writing has been almost non-stop. So once I finish a chapter and I'm happy with it, I'll post it. Thanks Again!

Disclaimer: These characters are NOT mine and I am NOT making any money. Thank JE for these wonderful characters... if only ... :-)

Author's Note 2: As I've said before, I've had this story(down to every detail) in my head for the longest time. Now thanks to **JENIO1**, I've decided to change one aspect of this story. It has to do with just some of the money Ranger gave to Steph... just a hint. :-)

Chapter Six  
Tank's Name Sake

Steph smiled as she finished counting. Fifty-seven dollars and seventy-five cents wasn't bad for an afternoon of work. If one could call a yard sale work that is. After working her ass off yesterday, she got everything she wanted, but couldn't take with her packed away and to her parents' spare bedroom. What she was taking with her besides a small duffel bag was in the trunk of her car. All the crap that she didn't want, well, she spread it out in the parking lot of her apartment building and started selling everything. Her apartment was now almost completely empty.

She purchased an air mattress and it was now set up in the living room, two pillows and Ranger's comforter was folded in half on top of it. Rex's cage was still on the counter. On another counter was a few grocery essentials that she was taking with her such as peanut butter and olives. She had already placed the duffel full of Ranger's things in her car along with several suitcases of the clothing that she wanted to keep. All she had to do was get rid of the big things such as her couch, bed, and dining room table. And thanks to her yard sale, she did exactly that.

It wasn't a lot, but at least now she had some cash on hand, along with what she had after she emptied her bank account. The check her mother gave her was cashed, but Steph decided to put it on an American Express card that could be bought at any local grocery store. It had cost twenty-five bucks to put the large sum of money on the card, but Steph hadn't wanted to lose it. The cash Ranger had given her was separated and packed in several different suitcases. The largest amount was in the duffel full of Ranger's clothes which was actually in her back seat. She had to keep that bag close to her. Not for the money, but because she didn't want to lose the last thing she had of Ranger's. His smell.

She was just getting ready to take Ranger's comforter to her car, when someone knocked on her front door. Since it was unlocked, she just called out for whoever it was, to enter. In walked Tank, Lester, and Bobby. The core team.

She narrowed her eyes. "Can I help you?"

"We want to talk to you." Lester said.

Steph nodded. "Well the last time you three showed up on my doorstep, you gave me the worst news of my life. I'm not up for that kind of talk today."

Tank shook his head. "It's about you leaving."

"What about it?"

Lester took a deep breath, rub the back of his neck, and stepped closer. "We –um… we," he did a half turn thing and made a gesture towards Bobby, Tank and himself. "We talked last night and um… we don't want you to leave."

It took her a minute to process what Lester had said because he seemed so damned flustered and not Lester. Once his words sank in, she shook her head, clearing the cobwebs so to speak.

"You three don't want me to leave?" Steph made it into a question.

Lester and Bobby nodded, but Tank looked to be speechless. After a moments of silence, Bobby came to stand in front of Steph.

"We just think it would be better if you stayed in Trenton." Bobby replied.

"Yeah because Ranger doe– I mean he wouldn't want you to leave your home because of him." Lester added.

Steph's brows narrowed in confusion as Tank shot Lester a death glare. What the hell is going on with these three? And once again, she wondered if Ranger's death was real. But surely Ranger wouldn't lie to her about that. He would have to know how upset it would make her. Wouldn't he? Unless he just didn't care. Steph shook her head, once again clearing those cobwebs. She didn't want that in her head anyway.

"Well… unless you three are here to tell me that Ranger's death was a big old joke and ha ha, he's really alive and we just thought we would come clean after tearing your heart out then I'm leaving tomorrow morning and not one of you is going to stop me."

All three members of the core team looked guilty and uncomfortable, but they all shook their heads in a negative. And then Tank finally spoke.

"We just think it would be better if you stayed in Trenton. Come on, Bomber, you get a lot of stalkers and crazies after you. If you leave Trenton, we won't be there to help you."

Steph rolled her eyes. "The only reason why I continue to attract stalkers and crazy people is because of my job. Since I'm no longer skip tracing, there's nothing to worry about."

That didn't comfort these three men. Not at all. In fact, they looked just as worried. Steph was honestly confused. She just wanted to get away from it all and mourn without reminders. She knew it would be easier that way. So what if she was taking the coward's way out. It was what's best for her. Her mother approved and when she talked to her parents last night, her dad and grandmother approved as well. They wanted the best for her, they wanted her to be happy and right now that was leaving Trenton behind.

"If you have to leave, then let one of the guys come with you." Tank suggested.

Steph looked at him like he'd lost his flipping mind. "That's throwing money away, Tank, and as the new boss of RangeMan, that's a firm hell no. I do not want a full time bodyguard. That will most certainly attract crazy people."

Steph was beginning to think all four of them were cuckoo as hell. Standing in the middle of her living room and arguing didn't make them crazy, did it? She was beginning to wonder.

"How about we just load you up with tracers and GPS? One or two in your car, a few thrown in your duffel bags and –."

Steph cut Lester off. "Have you lost your mind? NO! I don't want any damn trackers, Lester. Now, I already told you that I would call in regularly. Along with RangeMan business, I'll let you know where I am and how I'm doing."

Tank opened his mouth to say something but Steph didn't allow it.

"BUT…" She screeched which made all them jump. "If I find so much as one tracker, then it's over. Oh, I'll still call RangeMan because I would never let anything happen to Ranger's business, but as far as _my_ whereabouts, you'll never found out. Are we clear?" She asked, pointing her finger at them.

They all three nodded solemnly.

Steph smiled softly. "Good. I'm not leaving forever, guys. I'm just leaving temporarily. To get away from everything and everyone that wants to continue to remind me of the man I love more than anything being murdered. Ranger wanted me to fly and that's what I'm going to do."

"We're pretty sure he didn't intend for you to leave Trenton." Lester stated gently.

I frowned at him as I approached. "I'll call you, Les. I promise."

He nodded, swallowing hard. "I'm going to miss you, Beautiful."

"I'm going to miss you too." I replied as he pulled me into his arms, giving me a hug. She gave Bobby and Tank a hug too. "I'm going to miss you all very much."

"When are you leaving, Steph?" Tank asked.

"Well I've already told everyone that I need to and said good bye to everyone as well. I was going to head over to RangeMan this morning to tell you three good bye, but since you saved that for me. However once I get this bed and stuff in my car, I'm going to go to RangeMan and say good bye to everyone there. Then I'm leaving."

"So soon?" Bobby pondered.

Steph nodded and motioned around her. "Tomorrow is the fifteen of May and I'm paid up until then and as you can see my apartment is empty."

"Do you have your gun?" Tank nodded, looking not so hopeful.

Steph nodded. "I've got my gun in the glove box and bullets in the console. My stun gun is fully charged and in my pocket book along with pepper spray. I've taken precautions, guys. Trust me… please."

Tank pulled her once again into a hug. "We do trust you, Bomber. We're just worried something will happen and we won't be able to help."

Steph returned his hug. "Nothing is going to happen, Tank. "I'll be fine, I promise."

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Steph pulled out of the RangeMan parking lot with Rex in the passenger seat beside her and a heaviness on her heart. The atmosphere at RangeMan had been sad, quiet, and demure. She gave all the guys hugs which they returned with equal enthusiasm. As she was leaving she discovered that Bobby, Lester, and Ram were leaving on an op that from what Eric's big mouth had told her was going to be dangerous because they were going after the man that killed Ranger. Steph had hated hearing that tidbit of information, but she couldn't let that hold her back. She would definitely check in often to check on her friends.

She pulled up at the bonds office, ran inside and grabbed the bug detector and ran back outside. She ran the detector over her car, duffel bags, and suitcases. She found a total of twelve bugs. She gave them all to Connie, bid her friend one last good bye and left. She couldn't get mad at them. They were just trying to keep her safe, but she didn't want them knowing where she was unless she wanted them to. Call her selfish, but that's how it was going to be.

It was just two in the afternoon and her first stop was Hershey, Pennsylvania. Who wouldn't stop at the chocolate city of America while on a road trip? Whoever didn't was just plain crazy. A little chocolate would at least put a smile on her face. It would take a little over two hours to get there, putting her there around four. She could eat a light dinner, check into a hotel, and relax for the night. Tomorrow she would check out the sites of Hershey, Pennsylvania.

When she arrived in Hershey, she was starving and when she spotted a sign that said, 'The Chocolate Avenue Grill' on Chocolate Avenue, she stopped. Who wouldn't want to eat at a restaurant with chocolate in the name? Steph was already drooling and licking her lips in anticipation. She entered the posh restaurant and secretly hoped this first time didn't break her. She wanted to enjoy herself, but she didn't want to go broke either. After looking over the menu, she ordered the Mediterranean Risotto. It contained fresh zucchini, asparagus, Roma tomatoes, red onions, black olives, and basil folded into a creamy Parmesan risotto. It sounded delicious, but to her it also sound a little healthy. And maybe it was time for her to eat healthy. She ordered garlic bread on the side just as a balance.

It was absolutely the most delicious thing she had ever eaten. Oh she hoped she didn't slip up and tell that to her mother. She ate it all and was so stuffed, she wasn't sure if she had room for dessert. When she told the waiter that, he laughed and recommended the chocolate mousse. It was in a martini glass with a dash whipped cream. Steph agreed and ate all that too. It was more than she had eaten in the last several weeks. She hoped she was getting her appetite back. After she paid her bill, she found the nearest hotel where the doors to the rooms were located on the outside and easy accessible.

She asked the clerk for a room with a single bed on the first floor. She was definitely playing it smart. She parked in front of her door and carried in as much as she could. She didn't want to take the chance of being robbed and losing Ranger's money or anything else she had. She got out her air mattress and after moving several pieces of furniture around the room, she blew it up with the electric air pump. She then took her pillows and his comforter out of the car and laid it on the air mattress. She stayed at a hotel because the thought of being outdoors without a secure lock terrified her, but she didn't want hotel smells on his comforter. It probably wouldn't totally prevent it, but she was taking all the precautions she had too.

She took a quick shower and put on a new pair of pajamas that Mary Alice picked out. White with little pink horses all over them. Mary Alice had wanted a pair in her size, but unfortunately they didn't have one so Steph got a pair to make MA happy. She turned on the television and let the Three Stooges play. Mooner would be happy. She climbed onto the air mattress and wrapped the comforter around her. Ranger's scent was still there. God, she hoped it lasted.

She sent a text to her mother letting her know where she was and that she was okay. She then sent a text to Mary Lou, several of the guys at RangeMan, including Lester, and then she sent a message to Tank.

**I'm in Hershey, Pennsylvania and I'm safe.**

**The chocolate city of the world, huh? Should have known you would go there. :-)  
**

**Did you just smiling face me?**

**Um… no. Temporary insanity or something.**

**Lol! Is all okay at RangeMan?**

**Yes**

**Good… Just checking. Good night Big Guy!**

**Good night, Little Girl.**

She tucked her gun, stun gun, pepper spray and phone next to her, within reach, curled herself under the soft scent of Ranger, and went to sleep.

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The next morning Steph loaded all her stuff back in the car, but she didn't check out. She didn't want to leave her stuff, just in case. It was all she had left of Ranger. The last couple of nights, with Ranger's scent wrapped around her, she had actually slept pretty damn well. She didn't want anything to mess with that. And she didn't want the hotel to think she had someone else in the room with her because she told them she was alone. She wasn't sure if they would frown upon another one staying with her but she didn't want to take that chance.

Her first stop that morning, after eating breakfast at the hotel, was the Hershey factory. She bought a ticket, got a tour of the place, learning how the chocolate there was made. She even got to design her own candy bar. She put toffee crunch pieces and pretzels in her chocolate bar. It was delicious. She then got to go on a chocolate tasting tour. By the time she left the chocolate factory, she was full of chocolate and on a cocoa high.

She was driving back towards the hotel to eat lunch when she passed a local pet store. A woman stood out front with a flurry of dogs in cages around her. The woman herself looked tired and run-down. Dogs around her were barking as she tried to get a rather small little dog in an equally small cage. Steph didn't know why, but she pulled in and got out. All the dogs were barking hysterically. And now that she was closer to the woman, she could see that she was covered in dirt. At least Steph was hoping it was dirt.

The woman turned on her and frowned. "Can I help you?" She was polite, but Steph could hear the tiredness in her voice.

Steph pointed up. "I saw the sign –"

The woman interrupted. "It's no longer a pet shop. I bought it so I could open up a dog rescue center."

Steph nodded. That was really cool. "Um… forgive me for saying so," Steph had never been able to turn away from anyone who looked as harried as her. "But you look like you could use a hand." Steph offered. And why not? She had nothing else to do and she wanted to help.

The woman almost dropped the dog, she was so surprised. "You're offering to help? Me?"

Steph shrugged and then nodded. "Yeah, I can help." She offered once again. She had worn a pair of jean shorts and an old t-shirt, so she could easily throw it away if she got too … gross.

She sighed in relief and thrust the small funny looking dog in her arms. "Oh my gosh, you are such a life saver. I hired two assistants to help me, but then Sarah called last night and said she was getting married today so she was quitting. And Marlene called this morning and said she changed her mind. That she couldn't imagine taking care of a bunch of dogs so now I'm on my own. My brother helped me this morning, picking me and the dogs up at my house and dropping me off here, but then he just took off. I was getting ready to drag all them in the building but Maxwell there had to pee and the cages are too heavy for just me to drag in and I'm…" She stopped and grinned at Steph. "I'm rambling, aren't I?"

Steph smiled. "That's okay. Where do we start?"

"I'm Jessica." The woman offered her name and her hand.

She returned both. "Steph."

For the next several hours, Steph helped walk dogs, wash dogs, groom dogs, clean cages, and scrub every surface and the floors. She met many different dogs with some darn funky names. She even got to name a dog. The poor thing was what Jessica had called a mastiff. He was eight months old and already hundred pounds. The family that had originally adopted him couldn't handle such a big dog so they took him to the pound where Jessica saved him. The family had called him dog. Jessica and Steph both agreed he needed a new name. He was dark brown almost black in color with a fawn colored face and feet. He was definitely one of a kind and when Steph discovered that he was nothing but a gentle giant, she named him Tank. She took a picture of him to show Tank later. She was sure he would get a kick out of it.

When five o'clock rolled around, Steph was tired, hot, and filthy, but she felt good. She had helped someone in need and it felt nice. When Jessica offered Steph money, she shook her head. She couldn't accept it. Jessica had said she was doing this dog rescue all on donations from other people. There was no way, Steph would take money from these sweet dogs.

"Are you sure? You did a lot of work today."

Steph smiled at her. "I'm sure. I did it because I wanted to help, not to get paid."

Jessica actually gave her a hug. "Thank you so much. I never would have gotten everything done if it hadn't been for you."

She returned Jessica's hug. "You're welcome."

Steph couldn't resist saying good bye to every dog there, which was fifteen including Tank. She walked out to her car, but before she got in, she had an idea. Smiling, she opened the trunk and from one of the duffel bags, she pulled two thousand dollars from the bundle that Ranger gave her. While Steph volunteered today, she saw all the supplies that Jessica had to have. It had to cost a lot of money. It had been Jessica's dream to open up a dog rescue and when she finally saved up enough money, she borrowed a little more from a bank and now she had Doggy Love Rescue. Jessica's full time job was a receptionist at a dentist office so she had time to give to her rescue center. But Steph wanted to help.

She walked back inside. Jessica greeted her with a smile. "Hey! Did you forget something? Did you want to adopt a dog today?"

She smiled. "I wish I could, but it wouldn't be good for dog to be on the road and I wouldn't be the best doggy momma."

Jessica laughed. "I'll have to remember that, doggy momma. That's cute."

"I wanted to give you this." Steph said, handing her the money.

Her eyes went wide and she shook her head. "I can't accept your money. You worked for me today not the other way around."

"You said you're going to be running this place mostly on donations. Please accept mine. I just love these dogs and I want to help."

Jessica, with tears in her eyes, accepted the money. And then gave Steph another hug, almost cutting off her air supply. "Thank you so much. This will help so much."

"You're welcome."

She said good bye again and left. After grabbing a chicken Mcnugget meal from McDonalds, she drove back to the hotel and dragged everything back in the hotel, except for her bed and the blanket. She wanted to take a quick shower first. Once she did that, she fixed the air mattress and brought in Ranger's blanket. Ghostbusters was on so she couldn't resist watching that while she ate. Once it was over she called her mom and talked for a few minutes. She told her mom about her day, but she left out the part about the money. That wasn't anyone's business. Once she got off the phone with her mom, she texted Tank.

**Still in Hershey, PA. Leaving tomorrow. Is everything at RangeMan okay?**

**Hey Little Girl! All is good here. Nothing new. Are you okay? Safe?**

**I'm safe. I had a good day. I was actually so busy, I hardly thought of Ranger.** Which was true. She only thought of him a handful of times.

**That's good, Steph. What did you do?**

**I cleaned dogs and dog cages. I even got to name a dog.**

**I should be surprised, but you always help anyone in need.**

How Tank knew that Jessica needed help, she didn't know but she ignored that comment. Instead she attached the picture of Tank.

**I named him Tank because he's a gentle giant. Kind of like you.**

**I'm flattered, Steph. Thank you. He's cute. Not as cute as my cats of course.**

**Lol! Good Night, Tank.**

**Good Night Steph.**


	7. Kentucky Fires

Author's Note: You all are just wonderful! The reviews keep pouring in as do the story alerts and story favorites. That means so much to me to know that despite this story being sad and angsty, you still want to read it and you still enjoy it. Thank you so so much!

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine... I am NOT making any money... Enjoy!

Chapter Seven  
Kentucky Fires

She did it. She actually bought it. She bought a ticket to the Kentucky Derby. It was several hundred dollars and Steph felt almost guilty for buying it, but she wanted to discover new things and the Kentucky Derby was definitely something new. She was doing a lot of things that she had never done before. She went to New York City once she left Hershey. She had visited a lot of the expensive shops there, but she remained smart and didn't buy anything. She did however splurge on a ticket to the Broadway show, **Wicked**. She enjoyed it so much, but it made her a little sad when she had no one to share it with. She also bought a few souvenirs to remind her of her first ever Broadway show.

She then left New York City and headed to Vermont. She had to check out Ben & Jerry's. They gave her a tour and she got a free pint of ice cream. Well, she bought three and they gave her one. She was lucky her mini fridge had a small freezer. She stayed in Vermont for four days. She ate a pint every night. The first night at been Boston Crème Pie. She couldn't believe they had Boston Crème Pie! It was unbelievable delicious. The second night she had one called Chocolate Therapy. It was chocolate ice cream with chocolate cookies and swirls of chocolate pudding. She needed the chocolate because her second day in Vermont hadn't been a good one. She lost it when she pulled Ranger's blanket out of her car and it no longer smelled like Ranger. It made her sad.

Her third day in Vermont, she woke up feeling better and went window shopping. She bought a homeless man named Larry a pair of tennis shoes and some socks. She made him cry so she then bought him a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Cherry Garcia. She left him smiling and happy. Seeing the smile on his face made her happy. She went back to her hotel and ate the Triple Caramel Chunk. She loved caramel and that was so good. Her last day there she ate her Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. When she left Vermont, she was on a pure sugar high. She didn't stop again until she reached Kentucky. When she needed to sleep, she would pull over somewhere it was full of light and plenty of activity. No one bothered her.

She texted Tank every night along with her mother. She texted Lester the other night and he actually responded. He was doing good, but a little busy in the middle of something. She knew what that something was, but she didn't call him on it. She was just glad he was okay. She called Mary Lou, Valerie, and Lula the other night. They all missed her but were doing well. Her Grandmother was dating Henry exclusively and she was happy. Steph actually laughed while talking with her Grandmother. It had been a while since she laughed. It felt good.

Now she was going to the Derby to watch horse races. She had never been interested in watching horses race around a track, but no way was she going to be in Louisville, Kentucky and not go to the races. Now she needed a dress and a hat because the lady at the ticket place she talk to this morning told her that all respectable ladies wear hats to the Kentucky Derby. So she went shopping and bought this gorgeous turquoise dress that was full length and sleeveless. It was just perfect and she found this floppy hat that the sales girl said was perfect for the Derby. She even found matching shoes. It was perfect and she was excited to wear it to the horse races. In two days. She had two days to wait and to fill time.

She was tired of shopping because she didn't want to buy anything else and it wasn't much fun if she couldn't buy anything. She toured a museum yesterday and then early this morning she went to the local park where she actually ran a mile. She was out of breath and puking when she finished, but she finished. So after she went back to the hotel where she was staying, took a shower, and ate a peanut butter and olive sandwich, she called her mother.

"Hi Stephanie. Is everything okay? Are you having a good time?"

She smiled. "I'm having a good time, Mom. I bought a ticket to the Kentucky Derby yesterday."

"That's horse races, right?"

"Yeah Mom, I wanted to try something new."

"It sounds exciting."

"I'm calling because I have two days to wait and I'm kind of tired of shopping."

"Tired of shopping? I never thought I would hear those words from your mouth." Her mother replied with a chuckle.

"Well, it's just I don't want to spend too much money."

"Oh well I can understand that. How about volunteering?"

"Volunteering? You mean like I did at the dog rescue center?"

"Mmmm. But not just with animals. Homeless shelters need help all the time. Some cities even have places where they serve food. You could volunteer there."

"That's a good idea, Mom. Thanks."

And Steph meant it. She helped Jessica because she was in need, but it felt good to help. Maybe that was a little bit selfish, but she wasn't the only one to get something out of it so maybe being a little selfish was okay. So after she talked a few more minutes with her mother, she said good-bye and then found her way to the nearest homeless shelter.

An older lady was sitting behind a desk, writing up something. When she looked up and saw Steph, she sighed.

"I'm sorry, Sweetie, but we're out of room."

Steph gave her a smile. "I'm not looking for a place to stay. I was um… well I was wondering if I could help with anything. I mean I want to volunteer to help."

The woman sighed again. "I know the soup kitchen down on third needs all kind of help. Start there."

"Thanks."

Steph used her phone and GPS to figure out how to get to Third Street. She made it to Main Street before she had to stop. She stopped because she didn't have a choice. The middle of the street was taken over by two fire trucks, three ambulances, and a half of dozen of cop cars. Steph could easily make up out why the street had been taken over by Louisville's finest. A two story house had caught on fire, lighting up the sky with reddish-orange licks of flame and dark ugly smoke. Standing in the mist of all the police officers, fire-fighters, and paramedics were four people that looked lost and confused.

Steph's heart went out to them. A Latino family, the man in the group was the tallest, standing about Ranger's height. He was dressed in a suit that Steph could see was covered in soot. His wife, or at least the woman he had his arm around, was short, standing about five foot. She had long dark hair that was disheveled and she was wearing a t-shirt that almost reached her knees. Probably her husband's. That was all she was wearing. The other two were no more than five years old. The little boy was wearing a pair of a Disney movie, The Cars pajamas. He was probably four or five years old. The little girl was just adorable, her long dark hair was full of tangles and she was rubbing her eyes. She had a princess night gown on and ragged looking stuffed animal in her arms. She was half asleep in her father's arms.

Steph watched as the paramedics pulled them aside to check for injuries. The man was shaking his head, talking to the woman in white as he comforted his daughter at the same time. As the family got checked out by the paramedics, a man in blue walked over with a notebook in his hand. Steph couldn't make out what they were saying but it was clear they were talking about what started the fire. Behind them, the firemen worked hard to put a blaze that was reaching out of control. The woman was in hysterics and Steph felt sorry for her. It was clearly obvious that this family had lost everything they had.

And Steph was determined to help.

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She finally made it down to the soup kitchen after two hours of waiting. The GPS had showed her another way to get to Third Street, but it went down a street kind of like Stark so Steph refrained from going that way. Instead, she waited for the crowd to clear. Eventually an older couple came by and picked up the little Latino family. Steph was glad to see that they had family that could help.

She had stayed at the soup kitchen for several hours before finally going back to her hotel to take a shower and call her family for the evening. However, before she could make her first call, the news came on and Steph had to watch. It was about her Latino family. The Cruz's family home had caught fire due to a faulty wire. Unfortunately that faulty wire was next to the hot water heater. That house never had chance. It was just lucky that Diego Cruz had come home early and was able to save his family. He had returned home to grab a file that he had forgotten for work. They didn't mention where he worked or why the family had been at home at ten in the morning. Steph was betting the mom and her kids were sleeping. It was after all only ten in the morning. Maybe the kids had been awake and just playing while their mom slept or something.

But what interested Steph most about the news broadcast, was the ending. The Cruz family was staying with family locally and any donations were welcome. She couldn't believe they actually gave the family's address. It also stated anyone could drop off donations at the local police station, but she had other ideas. Since it was just as Steph had thought. They had lost everything except for the clothes on their backs.

After writing down the family's address, Steph loaded up her car, sticking everything in the trunk. Everything that is except for Ranger's blanket. Since it finally lost its smell, she now slept in the hotel bed. She only kept the air mattress for emergencies because she never knew if she might need it. She grabbed a grand from the stash Ranger gave her and drove to the nearest Wal-Mart with the help of the annoying GPS bitch. Steph went to electronics first and bought a nice camera with several SD cards. Since they left everything which probably included family photos, they were going to need to make new memories. She then picked up shampoo and body wash for all four members. They had Cars shampoo for the little boy. She bought some foundation, mascara, and eye shadow for Mrs. Cruz. Oh and she didn't forget toothbrushes and toothpaste either. It amazed Steph that pretty much everything came in kid-friendly items.

She then went to housewares department. A dark navy blue comforter set went into the cart for the Cruz parents, a Cars one for the little boy, and a princess one for the little girl. Sheets and pillows were added next. She grabbed a few extra blankets just in case. She passed the picture frame aisle and couldn't resist throwing in quite a few. Bath towels and wash clothes were next. She was the sure the family they were staying with had most of this, but the Cruz's wouldn't live with them forever and eventually they would need their own. So why not start right away.

Steph's favorite part of her little shopping spree was the toy aisle. She wasn't sure what either children liked or played with so she picked up a little bit of everything. She grabbed a kid-friendly tablet for each one. A leap frog with extra books for them to share. Several action figures such as the Turtles, Superman, and of course Batman with the Joker. She even grabbed a large stuffed Mater and Lightning McQueen from the movie, Cars. She then found a large rug like mat-thing that looked to be a small city with roads, so she threw that in the car with several boxes of little matchbox cars. For the little girl, she picked up dolls and doll clothes with accessories, dress-up clothes with little tutus and tiaras and several stuffed animals such as a bear, a frog, and a cat. A few Disney princess items went into the cart as well along with tons of books for both children.

She headed towards the check-out but stopped at the last minute. She went back to the electronics and grabbed two portable DVD players. She couldn't afford a television, not with everything she had already bought, but all kids loved Disney movies and she wanted to replace a few. She bought, of course, Cars (one and two), Finding Nemo, Toy Story (all three of them), Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Monsters Inc, Tinkerbell, Epic, The Incredibles, Lion King, and a few others. She was just a little jealous of their new movie collection. She gave herself a smile and headed to check-out.

She wasn't surprised when the amount came out to be more than a thousand bucks, but she didn't flinch or cringe. She just used her American Express and the money her mother gave her to add to the grand. Steph loaded up her purchases in the back seat, since her trunk was full, and then thought for a few minutes about what to grab to eat. Not McDonalds or Burger King, she wanted something a little more... filling. She found a place called Guaca Mole, parked where she could see her car, and went inside. She looked at the menu for a minute before finally giving up. She wasn't sure what they would like. A man, a worker, about her age noticed her frustration and stepped forward.

"Can I help? You look a little frustrated." His face holding nothing but concern, his eyes met hers. He was cute in a 'Hal' sort of way.

Steph sighed. "I don't know if you heard… but a family's home burned today."

The man interrupted her. "Oh yes, the Cruz family, lovely people they are. They come here all the time."

Steph lit up. "They do?"

The man nodded. "Yes. Why?"

"I wanted to buy them dinner this evening. I know it isn't much, but every little bit helps, right?" He nodded his agreement and Steph continued. "Do you know what they usually order?" Another nod this time accompanied with a smile. "Good. Triple their order."

The man's eyes widened and his grin too. "Why of course. Right away. What a sweet thing to do."

Then he was off. Steph kept an eye on her car. She didn't want anyone seeing what was in there and trying to break in. That poor family had already lost so much, they didn't need to lose what they didn't even know they had yet. The man came back with her order and handed her two very large bags.

"It's on the house, Honey. It's a sweet thing you wanted to do. My manager didn't want to take any money."

Steph couldn't do that. She knew Mexican food was expensive, well it was in Trenton anyway. She gave the man a twenty dollar bill, all the cash she had on her at the moment. "At least take this as a thank you for helping me."

He took the money and nodded. "Thank you."

Steph said good bye, put the food in the passenger seat of her car, and using that annoying GPS bitch, she found her way to where the Cruz's were staying. She took a deep breath, swiped on some black courage, and walked up the front porch. She only knocked once when the door was swung open. An older Latino lady with kind eyes and a sad smile stood in the entrance to the front door.

"Yes?" Her voice was heavily accented.

"Hi, my name is Stephanie Plum and I saw on the news about the fire…" No reason to tell her she pretty much witnessed it. "I just wanted to help out so I brought over some food from Guaca Mole. A nice man there said…"

The woman called out and then turned to her with a bigger and definitely happier smile. "Yes, yes, please come in." She stepped back to let Steph in.

"Let me go get the food." She told her and ran back to her car to grab the food. She was immediately enveloped in so many arms and told so many names, she couldn't keep them all straight. The older lady who opened the door was Selena but she told Steph to call her Abuela. Mr. Cruz told her to call him Diego and Mrs. Cruz, Mariana. The cutest kids she had ever met, besides her nieces, were Sofia and Mateo. She met aunts and uncles and cousins galore but there was no one she would ever be able to keep them straight. They invited her to eat dinner with them and she wasn't able to tell them no. Dinner with them was crazy. More so than it had ever been at her parents. Once dinner was finished, she pulled Diego to the side since he spoke perfect English.

"Is everything okay, Stephanie? You are so serious."

Steph smiled. He was nothing like Ranger but he was a good man who loved his family. "Nothing is wrong. I just wanted to… Well, I have a few things for you and your family in my car."

His eyes widened and filled with tears. "You brought more than just dinner. Oh Steph, you are just too kind to us. We have never even met you."

"I just wanted to help you and your family. It's not a lot. Just some blankets and towels and a few toys for the children."

He pulled her into a hug and started speaking Spanish. Steph hadn't a clue at what he said, but they were off to her car where she began to pull bags of stuff out of the car. Every time she put more bags into Diego's hands, he hugged her some more. Once they got everything into the house, the two small children began to pull toy after toy out of the bag. Squeals and girlish giggles reached her ears and she smiled.

Mariana hugged her into a huge bear hug and Steph found it hard to breath. How did such a small woman have so much strength? Mariana thanked her again and again and cried as the children for the first time were happy and laughing. Mariana absolutely loved the new camera and immediately began to take pictures of her two children. She even got one or two of Steph. They eventually got Sofia and Mateo settled down with their portable DVD players to watch a movie. Steph excused herself one more time and went back to her car. She went to her secret stash of cash, took a huge breath, and counted out five grand. She knew this wasn't what Ranger wanted or what he meant when he told her to fly, but she wanted to help and this was her idea of flying.

"Diego? Mariana? I have one more thing I would like you to have." Steph announced quietly to just the couple.

Diego shook his head. "Stephanie, you have given us enough. You have brought smiles to my children's faces and to my wife's as well. I wish there was something I could do for you."

Steph shook her head. "Not necessary, I promise. However, I wasn't able to pick up any clothing because I don't know your sizes, but I know you must need clothing so I wanted to give you this so you can buy your children some clothes to replace the ones they lost. And yourselves as well." She replied, handing Mariana the money when Diego refused to take it. Mariana fanned it out so Diego could see. She then shook her head and broke down into tears. As she held Steph in her very surprising strong arms, she repeated the same thing over and over.

"Nuestro ángel. Nuestro propio ángel de ojos azules. Dios nos ha enviado nuestro propio ángel especial."

Diego pulled them both into his arms and agreed. "God definitely sent us an angel."

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Steph slammed her hotel room door, letting out a small scream. Ugh! She hated journalists, just hated them. All because of a small thing she wanted to do for the Cruz family, she was now being hounded by several people that wanted an interview. It had already been covered on last night's ten o'clock news, this morning at six and then again at noon. Her horse race was tomorrow and it couldn't come fast enough. Then she could leave Kentucky and get away from the blood sucking assholes. She didn't want it all over the news, but it was too late for that. Oh and it was in the flipping papers too. Ugh! She wasn't even sure how it got out. Maybe the Cruz's told someone or something. Ugh!

She was pretty much stuck inside her hotel room until well… until she tried to leave for her horse race tomorrow. She hated being confined to a small space. Those stupid news reporters better be glad that she had all her things from her car, because if she didn't they would be the ones not happy. Just then her phone went off, taking her mind off the reporters and blood sucking journalists.

"Hey big guy!" She answered when she saw it was Tank.

"Little girl, is there something you want to tell us?" Was his response.

"Um… no. Why?" She asked hesitantly.

"So you getting your name in a major Louisville, Kentucky newspaper and all the over the news isn't something you wanted to share?" Tank replied sarcastically.

Steph growled. "How in the hell did you find out about that?"

Tank chuckled. "We have it where our computer informs us if your name pops up anywhere."

She heard someone in the background say something and Tank laughed outright.

"What's so funny, Tank?"

"Hal wanted me to tell you the truth. So I will. Every time you let us know when you're in a new place, we watch the news and the local papers from that city."

Steph didn't know what to say to that, but she didn't like it. In fact, she found it kind of insulting. And it really pissed her off. And it hurt her feelings. They watched the news and papers waiting to hear or see her name. They didn't trust her at all.

"You don't trust me at all." Steph couldn't keep the hurt out of her voice.

"Steph, that isn't why we watch the news or read the papers. We're just making sure that you're safe."

"That's such bullshit. I've been calling or texting you every night to let you know that I'm okay. I ignored the twelve bugs on my car and still continued to call and text you all. But you just never trusted me. I don't even know what to say, Tank. I'll call you in a few days to give you a new number."

"What do you mean by that, Steph?"

She growled again. "It means I'm done being nice. I don't want anything to happen to Ranger's business so of course I want you to be able to reach me, but no longer giving you my whereabouts. You have only yourself to blame. I'm done being treated like I'm stupid and incompetent. Thanks a lot, Tank, for making me feel like that."

She hang up the phone and ripped out the battery. Now she had a whole new reason for getting out of this room. She had a phone to buy, one that was untraceable. She had to do it quickly because she wanted her family to be able to get a hold of her at any time. She peeked out the front window. Along with the disappearing sun, so had several of the journalists. Thankfully she wasn't that big of a story where the Kentucky Derby was held. She didn't want to call too much attention to herself by dragging out all her belongings so she just grabbed all her cash and put it in her pocketbook. She hated having all that cash on her, but at least it was separate from her actually wallet and American Express card.

She was actually able to get to her car without a lot of hassle. She was actually able to get a really nice phone that was completely untraceable. The sales rep assured her that no one would be able to keep track of her or her whereabouts. She dropped a couple hundred bucks for the phone and the service, but it was untraceable and that's all that matter. Tank and his cohorts wouldn't be able to find her to hurt her feelings anymore. Maybe she was just blowing all this out of proportion, but she had asked them to not bug her and they did. She ignored that because she knew they meant well. But deliberately watching the news and reading papers, watching for her name, that was just... they had no trust in her. She was nothing but a joke to them.

Knowing that hurt and it made her want to cry. She was tired of crying. She was tired of being seen as stupid and incompetent. She was tired of looking like an idiot and being seen as the town joke. She was done with it all.


	8. Being Smart & A Little Stupid

Author's Note: Thank you to all my reviewers. I'm sorry this update took a little longer than normal... my weekend was hell! Please enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: These characters are NOT mine and I am NOT making any money.

Warning: Slight tissue warning!

Chapter Eight  
Being Smart & A Little Stupid

She could feel eyes on her. She knew she was being watched. And it felt creepy as hell. Almost malicious. It sent chills down her spine. And all she could think was, it totally flipping figured. She knew she had over reacted with Tank, but damn it, he hurt her feelings and now a week later, she still wasn't being forth coming with her whereabouts to Tank and the other guys. And now she was being followed. And they had been on her for a while.

She left Louisville, Kentucky after watching her horse race. On a whim she decided at the last minute to make a bet and won back double the money she had spent since being in Louisville. She was so excited, she could barely contain it until she reached her hotel room. She packed her belongings after taking a shower and hit the road. She went from Louisville to Nashville, Tennessee. She went to several museums and even went to the Nashville Zoo. She even got an autograph from Trace Adkins. He had been performing that night at the Grand Ole Opry and she happened to eat at the same restaurant he was. He smiled at her and kissed her cheek. She definitely almost swooned.

She left Nashville after two days and headed to Memphis. In Memphis, she went berserk at Graceland. Since she won all that money on the horse races, she bought souvenirs for all her family and even the guys at RangeMan. She enjoyed herself buying gifts for others. She caught a few more museums and even volunteered at several homeless shelters and soup kitchens.

Another two days in Memphis before she hightailed it to the Ozarks in Missouri. That was when she knew she was being followed. She felt the eyes in Nashville, but since she was upset with Tank, she just figured she was being paranoid. She ignored them in Memphis, but now that she was in the Ozarks and the creepy feeling of being watched was still there, she knew it was true. Damn her rotten luck. She didn't stay long in the Ozarks. She left in the middle of the night, hoping to ditch her trackers. Now she was here in St. Louis and she hadn't ditched a damned thing.

She knew the smart thing to do was call Tank and have him send one of the guys to her, but damn it, she was just finally starting to lose the painful squeeze in her chest caused by losing Ranger. And just the thought of seeing someone from RangeMan made the pain come back with a full vengeance. So that idea was out. She was tired of being chased and stalked. She was sick of others making her their prey. And she didn't want to run. She wanted to enjoy the rest of her trip before heading back to Trenton. She wasn't sure when she was going back to Trenton, but damn it, she wasn't going to be rushed.

Which is what brought her to this St. Louis gym and training center. It was time to get serious and it was time to kick some ass. She walked through the doors of Harley's Gym & Training Center with her head held high and a slight curve to her lips. Even eating the way she had been, she's been losing weight since she was constantly on the go and moving. She felt good and she felt energized.

"Hi! Welcome to Harley's! How can I help you?" A curvy red-head behind the front desk asked her with a wide, friendly smile.

Steph returned the smile. "Hi. I called this morning about taking self-defense classes and getting in a little exercise."

The woman actually looked her over and Steph was pretty sure the woman was checking her out. "You don't look like you need any exercise, but good for you for taking self-defense. And I do remember your call this morning." She stopped talking to take a deep breath and to look into her appointment book. "All of our trainers are completely booked except for Harley. I asked him if he would have time to teach you self-defense one on one since our classes are completely booked until next month and he totally agreed. Such a sweetheart, our Harley."

"Telling lies, Teresa?" A very male voice tsked behind Steph.

She turned to face the deep, sexy voice and gasped. Standing at least a foot over Steph's five foot seven, he had dark brown eyes and was completely bald. He was shirtless, showing off muscles upon muscles and lots of tattoos. He was sexy as hell. And he was smiling at her. It was too bad she didn't feel a damn thing, but then again Ranger's death was still too close to thought for her. She did, however return his smile.

"Aren't you the owner?" She asked. He nodded with a cocked eyebrow. Chewing on her lower lip, she asked. "Are you sure you're not too busy to teach me?"

He shook his head, still smiling. "Nope, my schedule is clear for the next few weeks."

Steph licked her lips and nodded. "Alright, where do I start?"

She started filling out paperwork and paying for a membership. And they asked a lot of questions. She put down her mother as an emergency contact. She had to list any and all health problems and any history of previous health problems. She had to tell them her likes and dislikes; in exercising and in food. And any fears she might have. Did spiders count? Snakes? Because both of them gave her the willies.

Harley chuckled. "I can definitely assure you that they are no spiders and absolutely no snakes in this gym." He leaned a little closer and lowered his voice. "I'm terrified of snakes, but _that_ will be our little secret." He winked, going back to her paperwork.

She grinned. She couldn't help it. He was funny and he was cute. He wasn't giving her any bad vibes and her spidey sense was quiet. She was okay and she was relaxed. It helped that he was super cute too. Probably.

He chuckled again. "You don't like to run, huh? Well, Sweetheart, you're going to have to get over that because you will run with me. However we'll start with a brisk walk and then work into a jog and then we'll begin running."

Steph crinkled her nose in disgust making Harley laugh as he went back to her paperwork.

"You like chocolate, ice cream, and Tasty Kakes. What are Tasty Kakes?" He asked, eying her over the paperwork.

She shrugged. "It's kind of like Little Debbie snack cakes, but in my opinion, only better."

He nodded with a smile. "How much do you eat of the sweet stuff?"

She shrugged again. "I don't know. It depends on my mood. And I'm not giving it up either." She told him firmly and with a little shake to her head to add some attitude.

He lowered her paperwork and gave her a look. "I would never ask you to give it up. That's how a lot of people fail on diets. When you're denied something you love all the time, you get depressed and that only makes you eat it more. I'll only ask _and_ enforce you to eat it in moderation. Moderation is the key to all this. The eating, the exercising, and being healthy. Are we in agreement?" He asked seriously.

She nodded. "Total agreement."

He smiled. "Good." He scanned the paper once again before pinning her with another stare. "No husband? Boyfriend?"

Steph shook her head, unable to speak as tears clogged her throat. Yeah, it was still too soon for Steph. Ranger had been it for her. He was not replaceable.

Harley watched her for another minute before finally nodding and going back to her paperwork. He made a sound of approval before handing the papers back to Teresa. "Glad to see no existing health problems. If at any time during any of our exercises, you suddenly feel different than any other time you've ever exercised, let me know immediately. Understand?"

She nodded firmly. He was dead serious. He looked almost a little scary. He would make a great Merry Man with that scary look and those muscles. And it helped that he was good looking as well.

He smiled. "Great! Let's get started."

Ten minutes on a treadmill at a nice slow walk and then stretching their muscles to warm up before they headed to the mats to begin her first self-defense lesson. She was frustrated and pissed off in less than twenty minutes. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the upper hand against Harley.

"Ugh! It's not fair. You're too damned big. You're twice my size!" She exclaimed quite loudly, facing him, hands on hips.

Harley shook his head as he gripped Steph's shoulders and made her look at him. "All my teachers in the self-defense classes are as big as me. I do that because you never know how big your attacker will be. Once you take a guy my size down then you can take any man down no matter how big he is. Now… let's try it again and again because Steph, I know you can do this."

She nodded eagerly and they got back to work. Harley, for the next hour, showed her several moves that could bring an attacker down. She collapsed on the mat, out of breath and tired.

"I can't move another inch!" Steph declared.

Harley eased himself down next to her, chuckling. "Well we're finished with the lesson for today, but I want you to work on your upper body strength before leaving."

She looked over at him and instantly wanted to slug him. He was so damned relax, sitting with his knees drawn up and arms resting comfortably upon those very large legs. And he wasn't even out of breath. Ugh!

"We're done with the lesson? But I never got the upper hand." Steph replied.

Harley grinned. "Yeah, that's not going to happen in the first lesson, Sweetheart. I am, after all, twice your size." He reminded her with a twinkle in his eye.

Steph laughed. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, but don't get too cocky, Mr. Teacher because I will bring your ass down."

Harley threw his head back and laughed. "I'll look forward to that day. Now on to upper body strength." He announced, jumping to his feet and offering a hand.

Steph groaned but took his offered hand and got to her feet. "Bring it on, Teach."

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Four days later, she still hadn't managed to bring Harley to his knees and she was still being followed, but she did have a part time job. The hotel she was staying at needed some part time help so she offered. So she worked part time there and when she wasn't working or at the gym with Harley, she was volunteering. She looked forward to her volunteer work and in St. Louis there was plenty of volunteer work to do. The people she met while volunteering were completely amazing and they were helpful and sweet and they always seem to know what to say when she was having a bad day. She only wished she could do more for them.

"Earth to Stephanie."

Harley's deeper than normal voice pulled her from her thoughts and she shook her head. Clearing those cobwebs again.

"Sorry, I was thinking."

"About?" Harley asked being nosy. He was very nosy but all she had to do was tell him to knock it off and he ceased it immediately.

They had been on their fifth lesson in self-defense when Harley announced that she needed a break. Secretly she hoped it was him that needed one, but she knew she was lying to herself.

She shrugged. "Just thinking that I wish I could turn volunteering into something more… I don't know, permanent."

He nodded. "You mean like in a career-wise way?" He questioned.

Steph nodded. "Yeah. I like volunteering at the homeless shelters and the soup kitchens, but unfortunately it doesn't pay the bills."

"There are ways, Steph."

"Which are?"

Harley's dark brown eyes watched her blue ones. "How about being a social worker?"

Steph chewed her lip. "What would that involve?"

"Helping people. Not only adults such as people that are homeless but Veterans and more often, children that struggle in day to day life."

"But doing what though?"

Harley wasn't exactly sure all of what social workers did, but he knew one in particular. "When I was four, my parents were stuck by a drunk driver and they careened off a bridge, got trapped in their car in a river where they drowned. I was home with the babysitter. I didn't have any other family so I went into the foster care system. My social worker, Bevie I called her, was my life saver. She gave me her number and told me to call her at any time. I did and often because I was a scared four year old little boy. She never got upset with me or told me she didn't have time for me. She always made the time for me. And when I was seven and got stuck in a home where the 'parents' –and I use that term lightly– were selling their foster children to um… less than savory characters for an hourly fee. I called Bevie immediately because I knew it was wrong. She got all of us children out of the house that same night and those people were all arrested."

Steph gave Harley a hug, worry for him and disgust for those people written all over her face. "I am so sorry, Harley. I'm sorry you had a rough childhood too."

Harley cupped her cheeks and grinned. "My childhood was a carnival compared to others, Sweetheart."

Steph crinkled her nose and offered him a smile. "I'm still sorry, Harley. You're a good man."

Harley released her faced as she slowly sat back on her knees in front of me. "I owe Bevie for that. She told me to channel my anger into one thing and make that one thing productive so I did." He motioned towards the gym. "I too like helping people. I just do it in my own way."

"Do you think I can do it?" Steph asked, worried she wouldn't make a good social worker like Harley's Bevie.

Harley nodded slowly. "I think it's not going to be easy and it will definitely be a long hard path and probably a lot of sleepless nights and a lot of crying, but yes Stephanie, I know you can do it. You're tough and you don't take anyone's shit, but you've got this soft side in you that wraps around people's hearts and makes everyone around you melt."

She melted on the spot at his sweet works. "Aww, thanks Harley." She replied giving him another hug.

He squeezed her back. "You're welcome, Sweetheart."

They got to their feet and went about Steph's self-defense lesson. When Harley suddenly came at her from behind, not only surprising her but actually scaring her, she flipped him over her shoulder. She stared into Harley's surprised dark eyes for a split second before letting out an ear-splitting whoop.

"I did it! I did it!" She yelled.

Harley came to his feet with a grin on his face. "I told you, you would, Steph."

She jumped into his arms and gave him a hug, excitement clearly on her face, taking away her common sense. When she pulled back, Harley's lips found hers, a simple caress of meeting lips. She practically leaped out of his arms. The pain in her eyes and the hurt on her face melted Harley's heart and he felt instantly like an ass.

"Steph, I'm sorry. I'm so damn sorry. I totally crossed that line between teacher and student, Sweetheart. It won't happen again."

She shook her head. "It's not your fault. I—"

He placed a single thick digit over her parted mouth. "Stephanie, it _is_ my fault. I'm your self-defense teacher and I just crossed that moral line. Please forgive me. And if you want, I'll do some switching and get you another teacher."

Steph shook her head harder. "Can we go somewhere and talk… privately."

Harley looked a little relieved as he nodded. "Yeah. There's a coffee shop down the street. We can use the walk."

Steph agreed. She needed the short walk to clear her head. She was being a little stupid at the same time she was trying to be smart. Oh hell, she was confused.

Once they were seated in the corner of the quaint little coffee shop with their drinks –black coffee for Harley and a hot chocolate for her– did Steph speak.

"I'm totally and completely in love with this man."

Harley was clearly shocked, his eyes wide. "Damn Steph, I'm sorry. You said you didn't have a husb–"

"He was killed in March and I was told on April Fool's Day."

"Oh shit, Sweetheart. I am so damn sorry." Sympathy for Steph came to the surface as he held her hand.

She gave him a tearful smile. "Thanks. It's hard and I'm learning to live with it; with his death."

"Can I ask how it happened?"

"He was caught in an explosion."

That rendered Harley speechless. And that was okay with Steph because she finally felt like talking.

"I live in Trenton, but after his death I had to get out. Everyone was coming up to me and telling me how sorry they were and a few even said that he was in a better place. I wanted to slug each and every one of them. He left me his business, his cars, his apartment, his money but all I wanted was his love. He never gave me that. Oh he said he loved me but that his love came with a condom not a ring. He always told me his life didn't lead to relationships so I never told him what I was always suspected, that I loved him. That I was completely and totally in love with him. He told me to fly so I did. I left Trenton. I've been to Hershey, PA where I ate lots of chocolate. Then to Vermont where I pigged out on Ben & Jerry's ice cream. From there I went to New York and went to a Broadway show. In Kentucky, I won big at the Kentucky Derby. I got to meet Trace Adkins in Nashville and I went to Graceland. And you know what?"

Harley didn't answer, he just continued to give her his full attention.

"The pain of his death is still there. Oh it hurts less, but it's still fucking there, Harley. In my head, I can hear his voice, he calls me Babe…" she choked back a sob. "He called me Babe. I hate this feeling, Harley. This feeling of loss all the time. All his clothes that I took from his –my– apartment that smelled so much like him no longer smell like him. The comforter and sheets that I took off his –my– bed no longer smell like him either. That's all I had left of him, Harley and its gone; he's gone."

Harley didn't care of the eyes around them, he pulled Steph into his lap, her ass settled on his thighs. It was a platonic hold to comfort a friend. "Steph, he'll never truly be gone. You'll always have your memories of him. Keep those memories close to your heart and he'll never truly be gone, Sweetheart."

Steph swallowed, fighting back more tears. "You're so sweet and nice and you're really sexy."

Harley chuckled. "Inflate my ego, Steph. I totally need that."

She punched his arm playfully, but her tone stayed serious. "I wish I could move on with my life, get involved with someone because you would be that perfect guy, but I can't. The pain of losing Ranger is still too close to my heart."

He gave her a smile. "I wish I could be that guy too because you're very beautiful, you're funny and smart and so very desirable, but I'll perfectly happy just to call you my friend."

Steph returned his mile. "I liked that too."

He quietly held her while her tears fell silently. There was no giant sobs or loud hiccups, just quiet tears trailing down her cheeks.

"I feel bad." Steph whispered.

"About?" Harley's voice equally quiet.

"I was so busy with my own grief that I completely ignored his friends, my friends and his family. I feel so damned guilty about that but how I can comfort them when I need the comfort?"

Harley brought a palm to her cheek. "Oh Sweetheart, I'm sure they understand."

"You think?"

He nodded. "I know."

"Thanks Harley. I needed this."

He tweaked her nose and she crunched it, making him laugh. "Tell me about him, Steph."

And she did. She returned to her own seat and they talked for hours. Steph told him about pretty much everything leaving only a few details out like the deal with DeChooch. That was no one's business but hers. She made Harley laugh as she recanted stories about getting Ranger shot and burning down the funeral home and the place full of pot, becoming high as hell just from the contact with the smoke. To Steph, it felt good to talk about Ranger. To laugh as she told Harley her memories of the man she loved.

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"So you never did tell me why you needed self-defense. I mean most women don't need a reason besides the one where they just wanted to be aware of their surroundings, but something tells me it's more for you."

Steph nodded in agreement. "There is."

Ten days had passed since the day in the coffee shop and Steph was close with Harley. They had become fast friends. She didn't feel anything _but_ friendship for him and he respected that. She was definitely comfortable around him and she could flip him six ways from Sunday. She was confident in her skills on the mat. Not to mention she could run a whole mile without puking. She couldn't promise any more than that. During the last ten days, she had told him all about her crazy life in Trenton. He knew about her stalkers and the crazy people she went after. He admired her for all she had been through. She even told him about the reason Ranger had to go in the wind which sealed his death warrant.

"And? Go on…" He urged softly.

"I feel like I'm being watched."

Harley sat up from his lounging position on the mats. "What? Are you sure?" He shook his head. "Of course you're sure. Have you been to the police?"

Steph shook her head. "And tell them what?"

"Um… that you're being followed, Sweetheart. It's a serious matter. Have you told anyone else?"

Another shake of her head. "I've talk to Tank and besides a small matter with an asshole of a client, there's been nothing suspicious. Even the man that…" Steph shuddered. "Lester texted me and they captured the son of a bitch that was going after Ranger's family. It's probably just my imagination."

Harley captured one of her hands in his and cupped her cheek with the other hand. "Do you honestly feel as though it's just your imagination, Stephanie?"

Steph shook her head. Again. "I don't, but I know self-defense, Harley. I carry my stun gun and my pepper spray everywhere I go. I'm no longer ignorant of my surroundings. Thanks to you, I can take the fucker down."

Harley sighed. "At least document this with the local police, Sweetheart. It will make me feel a lot better."

Steph slowly nodded. "Okay."

* * *

_Author's Note: There will NEVER be anything more than friendship between Harley & Steph.. just wanted to be clear on that.. :-)  
_


	9. Bite In The Butt

Author's Note: Thank you guys for your continued reviews and alerts. I've so enjoyed writing this story. It's been a lot more fun than I thought it would be. But it's not over yet! Not for awhile either! Hee Hee! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The characters you recognize are NOT mine and I am NOT making any money.

Chapter Nine  
Bite In The Butt

"Good morning, Teresa. Harley around?" Steph asked as she entered the gym. She grinned as she looked around. This was becoming one of her all-time favorite places. That thought made her giggle. The Merry Men back home wouldn't believe a gym was her favorite place. Hell, she barely believed it.

Teresa gave her a flirty smile. "He's around here somewhere. You know I'm totally better than him, right?" She teased. Steph quickly learned that Teresa was a lesbian and she was proud of that. And she sort of had a crush on Steph. Steph loved her and thought the world of her.

Steph gave her a smile. "Oh I completely agree, Teresa, but I'm just not ready for a serious or any other kind of relationship right now."

A kind of sad look passed over Teresa's face before she reached out and patted her cheek like an elderly grandmother would. And Teresa was younger than Steph by several years. "We all have skeletons in our closets, demons in our attics, and sadness in our hearts, but you're strong and you'll be okay."

"Thanks Teresa, you're a sweetheart."

Teresa winked at her. "And don't you forget it."

"Telling more lies, Terri?"

Steph turned to greet Harley as Teresa growled.

"You know I hate it when you call me that." Teresa replied.

Harley flashed her an evil grin. "That's exactly why I do it."

Teresa rolled her eyes and answered the gym's phone. Harley then turned his attention on Steph. "Anything out of the ordinary? All okay?" He asked seriously.

Steph shrugged. "The eyes are still there, but they're getting closer."

Harley's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that?"

"My spidey sense has been wiggin'."

A look of confusion crossed his features. "Spidey sense? Wiggin'?"

Steph giggled. "My spidey sense is just this feeling I get when something is going on and wiggin' is the only way I know how to describe it right now."

Harley nodded. "Makes sense I guess." He motioned towards the mat. "You ready for a work-out this morning?" He asked.

Steph nodded. "Only if we can go get waffles once we're finished." She bargained.

Harley barely hid a grin. "Waffles, huh?"

"Yep." Steph said, popping the 'p'. "With lots of butter and plenty of syrup."

This time Harley licked his lips. "Sounds damn good, Sweetheart. Let's get started so we can go get those waffles."

Steph laughed, but they both quickly got down to work. Only a few days had passed since she told Harley about the eyes watching her and together they reported it to the local police. They asked if anyone was mad at her or wanted to harm her. Steph had to hold back the laugh that threatened to break free and it was hard too. But she told them no, she didn't believe so. She told them a little about what she used to do when she lived in Trenton, but she had talk to Tank, Lula, and Connie and they assured her that nothing was going on in Trenton. No one strange was asking about her or creeping around her family or her old apartment or even the bonds office. The cops told her there was nothing they could do, but they did tell her to keep her eyes open and her guard up. No problem there.

Whoever was following her was taking pleasure in it. They were taking pleasure in scaring her and that pissed her the fuck off. She wasn't going to ignore it. No, she couldn't do anything about it, but she knew they were there and she was constantly aware of her surroundings. Harley was making sure Steph could protect herself and Steph was happy with herself and what she has accomplished since arriving in St. Louis, Missouri. She could take Harley down in several seconds no matter what direction he came at her. She took pride in that.

An hour later they were finished with their work-out and on their way to the best place in town to get a huge Belgian waffle. And since it wasn't far from the gym, they walked. Half way there was spent in silence, enjoying the cool breeze and the hot sun. But when Steph rubbed the back of her neck for the third time, Harley had to ask.

"Is your neck hurting?"

Steph glanced at him in surprise. "No. Why?"

"Because you keep rubbing like it's hurting or something."

Steph almost stopped walking, she was so damned shock. She hadn't realized she was doing it and now that she did, she felt almost giddy at the thought of why. Her neck only tingled like it was when Ranger was around, but he was dead. Right? And besides whoever was following her wasn't happy to see her. They wanted to hurt her. She could feel that. It couldn't be Ranger unless he went under a drastic personality change. That and he was alive. She really couldn't comprehend Tank and her Merry Men lying to her about something that big.

"No, it isn't hurting or anything. Just thinking, I guess." She told Harley.

He didn't look as if he believed her, but they arrived at the restaurant so Harley didn't say another word. They ate their waffles with a side of bacon. Harley had double bacon and Steph couldn't resist teasing him.

"Laugh it up, Sweetheart. Paybacks are a bitch with someone twice your size."

Steph laughed. "Oooo, I'm shaking in my sneakers. Don't forget, Teach, I can take you down now."

Harley shoved a bite of waffle in his mouth, but his smile was wide. "You've come a long way the past few weeks, Steph."

Steph nodded, a huge smile on her face. "I have, I know. I'm happy with the changes too. Oh and I wanted to ask you something."

"Ask away, Sweetheart."

"I need a computer and I was going to go to Best Buy today. Wanna come with me and help me pick one out?"

"Would love to. What's it for?"

Steph licked her lips. "I went to the University of St. Louis yesterday and signed up for on-line classes."

If it was possible, Harley's smile grew. "Steph, that's awesome. What classes?"

"Just the basic ones that I need and my first course towards my degree as a social worker."

Harley tweaked her nose, making her crunch it. "So proud of you, Steph."

Steph frowned and her heart clenched. She hadn't heard that in so long. It hurt like hell that it wasn't Ranger speaking those three little words. The tears were there, threatening to spill but after two and a half months of crying, she was able to keep them back. But her face full of hurt didn't go unnoticed by Harley.

"Ranger?" He questioned, easily guessing why she was in pain.

Steph nodded. "He was the only one that every believed in me. He had faith that I could do my job."

"He was a smart man, Steph."

Steph shook her head. "Was he?"

Harley looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Harley, I was an idiot."

"What? You are not."

"I'm not anymore because I've been working out and taking self-defense classes. But damn, I just totally realized that I was completely stupid. I had no right to be a bounty hunter. I could have gotten myself killed or even worse, I could have gotten my friends killed. All along the guys have been trying to tell me and I refused to listen. And now that I'm finally being smart, Ranger isn't here to see it."

Harley reached out, taking her hand in his. "I bet he knows, Steph. I bet he sees how smart you've become and how wonderful you've always been."

She gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Harley. Once again I'm whining and feeling sorry for myself."

Harley shook his head, almost in disappointment. "Steph, you lost someone you love. You have the right to be whining and selfish," he gave her a half smile full of orneriness. "At least for the first six months. After that, I have every right to throw you off a bridge."

Steph laughed. "You always make me laugh."

His fingers caressed her cheek. "I try."

Steph sighed. If only, she thought.

R&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&S

"I had no idea they made personalized computers." Steph exclaimed loudly as they entered her hotel room.

"They're more expensive, but definitely worth it." Harley replied.

Steph pulled her new laptop out of the box and grinned. "I think I won't mind doing homework all that much on my new computer." Steph admired the yellow and black print. It was so totally perfect.

"But I do have one question."

She turned her attention away from her laptop to look at Harley. "What's that?"

He nodded towards the computer. "Why Batman?"

Steph smiled. A big smile that took Harley back. He had never seen her smile like that before. Damn, she was beautiful, he couldn't help but think. Too bad.

"Ranger was my Batman. I often teased him about being Batman."

Harley couldn't help but grin. "He wear a cape?"

Harley watched as Steph rubbed the back of her neck. She'd been doing that a lot today.

Steph stuck her tongue out and rolled her eyes. "Noooo… but he mostly wore black. Black camo pants, black t-shirts, black jeans, black Armani, black silk boxers –"

Harley laughed as he interrupted. "I don't want to hear about his underwear choices, Sweetheart."

Steph giggled. "Oh he only wore those to bed when I was… well, feeling like a good girl. Most of the time he went commando."

Harley covered his ears and started singing. "I can't hear you! I can't hear this!"

Steph pushed him and Harley caught off guard, fell backwards on the bed. His face made Steph laugh as he was shocked as shit that she got the better of him off the mats.

"You're such a baby." Steph teased.

He did an impression of the Burg eye roll. "I am not." He protested. "I just don't want to hear about another man's preferences on the state of underwear or no underwear."

Steph giggled again and went on to explain about Ranger and his Batman likeness. "He's got a long line of mysterious black vehicles and he drives a black Porsche Cayenne. And well he's always been mysterious. He would always go in the wind and I never knew where he went. And he would come back and all…" Steph frowned. "He was enigma. He was Batman."

Harley stood up and gave her a hug. He hated seeing her sad. So he made her smile. "Well, I'm definitely no Batman, but I can be Hulk." He gave her his best growl as he flexed his biceps. Steph laughed and punched his shoulder. He picked her up easily and tossed her on the bed. She pretended to be mad, making Harley laugh.

"Come on, Plum." He motioned for her to come get him. "Take your best shot."

Steph narrowed her eyes in a playful manner and launched herself at him. He braced himself for her weight but she still managed to knock him back a few feet. He put her back on her feet and waited to see what her next move was. She waited for the perfect moment, taking a kick shot at his head. While he was busy dodging that kick, using one long leg she knocked his legs out from under him. He went down hard. He was after all, a six foot six, two hundred and fifty pound man.

"Holy shit, Sweetheart." He totally sounded dazed.

Steph leaned over him to meet his eyes. "You okay, Teach – er?" She grinned.

He moaned and sat up, moving to lean against the wall of her hotel room. "Alright, you totally win. You just knocked the wind out of me, Steph."

Steph sat down on the edge of bed and continued to grin at him. "The student has surpassed the teacher. Ha ha!"

Harley nodded. "I totally agree." He shook his head. "When do you start school?"

Steph's grin widened. "Changing the subject, huh?" She tsked. "I start Monday."

"You excited?"

Steph nodded. "I'm so ready. I can't wait."

"You're going to be busy little bee between volunteering, working at the hotel, school, and working out. Where are you going to find time for me?" He pouted.

Steph giggled, rolling her eyes. "I'll see you when working out."

He nodded. "That is true." He frowned as he looked around. "You know if you want, I have a guest room you could stay in. I know staying at a hotel has to be getting old." He offered.

Steph shook her head. "Since I work here, I get a huge discount and I don't really mind it. I got everything I need."

His eyes searched hers as she reached up and rubbed the back of her neck, again. "The offer comes with no strings, Sweetheart. I know you're not interested and I completely respect that."

Steph smiled as she stood up to give Harley a hug. "Thanks. I'll think about it."

He tweaked her nose and she pinched his arm. "Ouch! That hurt, you meanie." He feigned.

Steph laughed as she headed towards the bathroom. "Let's go do something." She called out from the bathroom as she shut the door behind her.

Harley didn't move. "Like what?" He called back.

"I don't know. You live here, you pick something." Steph replied as she brushed her teeth. All she could taste was thick syrup and it was wreaking havoc on her taste buds.

"Um… your phone is ringing." Harley replied, his thoughts interrupted.

"Can you please answer it?"

Once he located it in the bottom of her pocket book, he glanced at the screen. The name on the phone was Tank and Harley had a bad feeling, but he answered it anyway.

"Hello?"

"Who is this?" The man he believed was Tank hissed angrily.

"Name's Harley. And you are?"

"What in the fuck are you doing with Stephanie's phone?" He barked.

"She asked me to answer it, man. Chill out." Harley responded.

"I want to talk to her. Now!"

Before Harley could respond, Steph came out of the bathroom. "Who was it, Harley?" She asked.

He handed her the phone. "Tank."

Steph smiled as she put the phone to her ear. "Hey Tank!"

"Who is he, Steph?" Tank immediately demanded.

Steph was taken back by the hostilely in Tank's voice. "He's a friend." She answered slowly.

"A friend? Are you sure he's… safe? What's his name? I'll run a full background check, Little Girl. You can't be too careful." He said in a rush.

Steph licked her lips, ignoring Harley for the moment. "He's been my friend since I've arrived in St. Louis, Tank. I'm not giving you his name so you can check him out. I trust him with my life."

"Steph, are you sure about this guy?" He asked again, his tone implying he was backing down.

Steph sighed. She had mentioned Harley to Tank on several occasions and his reaction had never been this. "I'm very sure, Tank. He makes me laugh. He's been helping me through a lot. Leave it alone."

She heard something but it sounded muffled before Tank came back over the phone.

"Yeah, okay. Is everything else okay? Anything out of the norm going on?"

Steph shook her head. "Everything is fine. How about there? RangeMan?"

"Everything is great, Steph." Now he sounded like the Tank she once knew.

"Good. I'll talk to ya later."

"Have fun."

He hung up before she could reply. She finally faced Harley, slipping her phone in her pocket. "That was really weird."

"How was it weird?" Harley questioned.

Steph shrugged. "It just was. There was something in his voice that sounded almost relieved."

"Relieved? About what?"

Another shrug. "Once he got over you answering the phone and all, but I don't know. That's the only word I can think of to use. He sounded totally and completely relieved."

"You'll find out eventually."

"Yeah, you're right." She gave him a smile.

"Come on, let's go ice skating."

Steph looked horrified. "Ice staking?" She gulped.

Harley laughed as he tugged her out the door.

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Steph let the warm water soothe her sore body. The sweet scent of lavender invaded her senses and made her smile. Harley had taken her to an indoor ice skating ring where they spent hours knocking each other on their asses. Okay, well she knocked him on his ass repeatedly because she couldn't seem to stay off of hers for long. He was a natural on ice skates while she was clumsy as hell. So she figured it fair that she knocked Harley down at least once an hour to make up for it. He was a great sport about it.

For dinner, they pigged out on nachos, burgers and beer. Then they ordered the 'house' banana split and it was huge. Steph was glad they only ordered one because there was no way she could have eaten one of those bad boys by herself. When the ring finally closed, Steph dropped Harley off at his place before coming back to her hotel room. She fed Rex a carrot, some cheerios and a few hamster pellets while her bath filled with soapy scented bubbles.

She stayed in the bubbles until she started to become chilly. She dried off quickly then pulled on a pair of Ranger's black silk boxers and black t-shirt. She had a wonderful evening with Harley, but she needed some time with Ranger and this was the only way to get it. She wished she felt something more than friendship for Harley. He was such a great guy. He was sweet as hell, he loved animals and he loved food just as she did. But her body wasn't in it. She didn't feel a thing for Harley. Which totally sucked.

She was too tired to call anybody. Hell, she was too tired to even turn on the television. She snuggled under the covers and closed her eyes. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

She woke up disoriented. She blinked several times to focus, but the room was too dark. She felt off. Something wasn't right. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was sending her spidey senses into sensory overload. She started to get up, to reach for her gun, but before she could move, she felt something cold against her arm, a jolt, and blackness took over.

When she woke again, she had a splitting headache and she was tied to something. She wiggled. Yep, she was tied to a chair. Fuckin' A! All that flipping self-defense and some asshole took her down in the middle of the night with a mother fudging stun gun. What a bite in the ass that was. Whoever it was had better hope she never got free of these ropes because when she did, she was going to take his ass down. And hard.

"Wake up. I know you're awake." The male voice was familiar and Steph's eyes flew open.

The man in front of her grinned. "Good. I'm glad you're awake."

Steph didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to think either.

"Dale!"


	10. Dale Isn't So Bright

Author's Note: I just want to say thank you to all of my readers. You guys are simply amazing and I hope you enjoy this chapter and the next to come. It's not over yet... I promise!

A very special Thank you to Jenio1. :-)

And I know its short... :-)

Chapter Ten  
Dale Isn't So Bright

Steph didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to think either.

"Dale!" Steph's eyes went wide as she looked upon the man that had stunned her in her own bed. "Dale Silverman!"

He grinned wickedly. "Oh good, so you do remember me."

Steph curled her lip. "Of course I remember your ugly ass." She commented and he slapped her hard.

"You're such a bitch." He replied.

She shook off the painful sting on her cheek and gave him a careless shrug. "Who's got who tied to a chair after a cheap shot with a stun gun? You didn't even fight fair, coward. You waited until I was asleep in my bed in the middle of the night. And how did you get in my hotel room anyway?"

"You wanna talk about fighting fair? You snuck up behind me and stunned me while I was trying to hook up with a good looking ho." He frowned. "Which now that I'm thinking about it… you set that up, didn't you?"

Steph smirked. "You're not very bright are you?"

His eyes narrowed and he slapped her again. Steph tasted the blood in her mouth, spitting as much as she could on the floor she shot a glare at Dale.

"And for your information, she isn't a ho either. She's my friend so watch what you say about her or I'll shove your balls up your ass and into your throat."

Dale laughed as he pulled up a chair across from her and sat down. "Well, Miss Bombshell Bounty Hunter, it doesn't look like you can do much of anything right now. Does it?" He asked gleefully.

He wasn't the Dale she went to school with, this Dale was creepy. Not scary creepy, but whacko creepy. Or was there a difference? Steph didn't know nor did she care. She was tied to this shitty wood chair with nylon rope. However, that didn't bother her because the idiot didn't know how to tie a real knot. She knew if she worked it a little bit, she would be able to slip her hands through and then somehow untie her feet before Dale noticed that she was free. But she couldn't do anything at the moment because Dale was looking right at her. So she would have to bide her time and wait until he turned away or until he moved. She needed to get him talking and agitated so maybe he would get up and pace or something.

"Why am I here, Dale? And how did you find me? You didn't follow me all the way from Trenton. I would have known?"

He gave her a blank look. "You really don't know what you did?" He questioned in disbelief.

Steph shook her head. "Should I?"

He nodded dumbfounded. "You signed my death warrant, Stephanie. So now I'm going to sign yours."

Steph's eyes widened and a little bit of panic set in. He wanted to kill her! What the fuck!? "I don't understand, Dale. Explain to me how…"

He sighed. "You know why I was arrested, right?"

She nodded. "You hacked into the FBI database."

"Yes I did." He stated proudly before frowning. "And I got caught. Apparently, FBI has sensors or something that notify them when their system is hacked into."

Steph wanted to say 'duh' but she held her tongue. She didn't want a repeat of the first two slaps. So she just nodded like the idiot he was.

"They found me easy enough I guess since I wasn't expecting to be arrested, but they let me out on bail because it was my first offense." Dale laughed and shook his head. "What dumbasses!"

He cocked his eyes and frowned suddenly. "Do you know who Freddie DeMarco is?"

Steph didn't know so she shook her head, but stayed silent. She didn't want to interrupt after all. She had manners. Kind of.

"Well, he's the one that got me the job in the first place and the reason why I hacked into the FBI computers. He wanted me to remove his file completely." Dale waved his hands in front of her face. "He wanted to disappear." He giggled at that. Yes, he giggled. Like a little girl. "So I hacked into FBI files and began to delete all of Freddie's files. But before I could finish the job, my so called boss walked in and I had to shut it all down."

Steph slowly nodded. "So you wasn't able to delete all of this DeMarco guy's files?" She asked cautiously.

Dale eagerly nodded, glad she was understanding what he was telling her. "Exactly! Well, because I wasn't able to delete everything and the FBI caught on to what I was doing, they knew Freddie was behind it so they've been putting the pressure on him."

"And that got you into trouble with him?"

Again Dale nodded. "He had his cronies pick me up one night. It was late and I was taking my trash out when they grabbed me. They brought me to a place similar to this." He cut off mid-sentence and looked around. Steph looked around as well, but she took the opportunity to jerk and loosen the ties around her hands and feet. She didn't have a clue where they were, she just seriously hoped they were still in St. Louis.

The place he had her in wasn't too scary, she thought. Not like some of the places she'd been tied up in. She was pretty sure it was a basement of some kind. Or a cellar. The floor was concrete and the walls were cement blocks. A set of wooden steps were set off into one corner, she could barely make them out if she turned her head in a very odd angle. There was a stack of boxes in one corner that looked old and water logged. A table was set up behind Dale, not far from where she was sitting. She saw the stun gun and an actual gun. It was the actual gun that scared her shitless. The rest of the twelve by twelve room was completely empty.

He focused back on her and Steph quickly stopped moving. "He told me if I was ever brought into police custody again, he would kill me. He told me that I needed to get out of town and to never return."

Steph licked her lips. "Why didn't you?" She asked gently.

He shrugged. "I grew up in Trenton. I didn't want to leave. I figured if I just laid low, it would be okay. I should have left. He showed me how serious he was but I really didn't believe he would kill me."

"What did he do?" Steph asked, already knowing she really didn't want the answer to that.

Dale actually whimpered. "He cut off several of my toes."

Steph gasped and fought back the vomit that came to her throat. She blinked back the black dots in front of her eyes and fought to breath. "I'm sorry, Dale." She whispered, meaning it. She really did sign his death warrant and she felt bad, but she was only doing her job.

He gave her a hateful look. "It's your fault. All your damned fault."

She had to keep him talking and not focused on her. "Who is Freddie DeMarco?"

"He lives in Newark on this street where people pay him taxes to keep them safe from harm."

Steph nodded. "So he's like a mob boss or part of some kind of mafia."

Dale shook his head. "Freddie said he wasn't a mob boss or the mafia. He said he just wanted to keep his street safe from thugs so he collects taxes every month."

"What happens if one of those people don't have their taxes one month?"

Dale shuddered. "He punishes them." He whispered.

She shivered from fear and revulsion. "How come you just don't tell the police this to save your own ass? I'm sure you would be safer in jail then out of it. Or maybe they could put you in the witness protection or something."

Dale shook his head adamantly. "Freddie assured me that I would never be able to hide from him."

"Have you seen him since you got bailed out the second time?" Steph asked.

He shook his head. "He sent me a warning."

Her brows furrowed. "What kind of warning?"

A shiver went through Dale and his face went pale. He leaned in close to her. "He sent me my own toe with a note that said, 'I warned you'."

Steph felt his horror. The man sent him his own toe. That's horrible. Steph said as much.

Dale nodded in agreement. "I miss my toes. I mean I didn't use them for anything but I do miss them."

She nodded, deep in thought about what it would be like to have her toes cut off. She shut that thought down quickly. She didn't want to throw up on herself and that had been too close. She felt sorry for Dale. She knew it had to hurt.

She swallowed and then took a breath. "So this DeMarco approached you about hacking into the FBI database at your job? Why not at home? Or the library?"

Dale shook his head. "No, Freddie got me the job. The guy that hired me owed him a favor so he hired me. And he wanted me to use my boss' computer so the FBI would suspect him of doing it."

That confused Steph a little. If DeMarco wanted Dale to use his boss' computer, didn't that mean that DeMarco knew that the FBI would know about the hacking? Sounded to her like DeMarco was a complete jackass. "So he wanted to place the blame on your boss so your boss would get caught and go to jail?"

Dale nodded.

"What did your boss do to this DeMarco?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Freddie said that Mr. Corrigan owed him some back taxes or something."

"Oh okay. So DeMarco hired you to hack into the FBI database from Corrigan's computer but you got caught instead of Corrigan. Right?"

Dale was silent for a minute before he nodded. "Yeah, that's exactly right."

"You didn't use Corrigan's computer?"

Dale frowned and shook his head. "His office was always locked. I mean, one night I picked it until I got it open but then his computer was password protected. I couldn't get in."

He sounded down and discouraged and Steph felt bad for him. But if he could hack into an FBI database then how come he couldn't just hack into his boss' computer? Steph wasn't going to ask, she didn't want to piss him off.

She took a slow deep breath. "So let me see if I got this right… DeMarco blackmailed Corrigan into giving you a job that you wasn't really qualified for so you could use Corrigan's computer to hack into the FBI database and delete DeMarco's files. Corrigan just thought that you needed or a job or something when in fact DeMarco wanted him blamed for the hacking. However, since you wasn't able to get to Corrigan's computer, you used yours or the one you use while at work. You got caught and arrested but released on bail. DeMarco had you kidnapped, cut off your toes and threatened to kill you if ever in police custody again, then let you go. I came along, took you back to the cop shop so now there's someone out there trying to kill you. Right?"

Dale took a minute to answer but when he did he finally nodded. "That sounds about right."

Steph sighed. "So now you want to kill me because DeMarco wants to kill you. Right?"

Again Dale nodded. "Exactly. I'm glad you're being such a good sport about this." He smiled at her.

She ignored that remark. She wasn't happy with the situation but she was working on that. "I have one question."

He cocked his head. "What?"

"How did you find me? You didn't follow me all the way from Trenton. I would have known."

He nodded in agreement. And then to Steph's utter delight he got up and went to the table behind him. Steph held her breath, hoping he didn't grab either gun, mostly especially the one that held bullets. Instead he grabbed something she hadn't seen. A newspaper. She knew immediately what newspaper it was. Even without seeing it.

His back was to her as he just stared at the newspaper, so while he talked, she worked on the rope. "By the time my lawyer got me bail the second time around you were already gone. I was pissed that you had left. Word around Stark was that the badass Ranger had been blown to bits and you couldn't handle it so you were shipped off to some hospital or another. Imagine my surprise when this newspaper turns up in Trenton and everyone is talking about it." Dale finally turned and Steph immediately stopped her movement. He showed her the paper and she cringed.

"Everyone is so proud of the Bombshell Bounty Hunter helping out a helpless family who lost everything in a fire. I thought it sound a little too perfect. Maybe too planned out."

"You mean fake?" Steph questioned, ignoring the remark about Ranger. Maybe she would punch him in the face for the remark, but she had to keep focus.

"Yea. Fake. Was it?" He asked, looking at her closely.

Steph shrugged. "Does it matter either way?" She questioned.

He laughed. "No it doesn't. I'm still going to kill you." Steph seriously doubted it, but she kept her mouth shut. "So when I saw the Kentucky paper, I headed to Louisville as fast I could. You knew I was following you, didn't you?"

She gave another shrug. "I had a feeling I just wasn't sure." She replied. The back of her neck suddenly went to tingling and it was freaking her out.

Dale smirked. "I should have taken care of you before you left Louisville, but I decided to let you have a little fun before I offed ya."

Steph rolled her eyes."I have a question."

"Whaaat?" He drew out.

"Where are we? Are we still in St. Louis?"

He nodded. "Yeah I rented this little piece of shit house because it had a basement and it was perfect for what I wanted it for."

"You mean to kill me."

He grinned. "Yeah."

"I have another question." And she was pretty sure she already asked this but oh well.

He let out an exasperated breath. "What?"

"How come you just don't tell the police about DeMarco so they can arrest him? Then you would be off the hook."

His eyes widened to the point where his eyes were bugging out of his head. "Are you fucking nuts?! No one rats out DeMarco."

Dale went back to the table and Steph took that exact minute to free herself from the ropes; both from her hands and her feet. When Dale turned towards her –without the gun– Steph smiled at the look of shock on Dale's face and the fact that he didn't have the gun.

"How did you get out of those ropes?" He asked.

Steph gave him a smirk. "You totally suck at tying knots." That comment pissed him off or maybe the fact that she outsmarted yet again, he charged towards her. Steph shrieked –she couldn't help it– as she jumped out of the way and he crashed head first into the chair she had just been tied to. Steph grabbed his stun gun and before he got to his feet, she pressed the tongs to his bare arm and zapped him.

She sat down hard on her ass and took a deep breath. Before she could decide what to do next, she heard a noise at the top of the stairs. She stood up, grabbed Dale's gun and dropped it back immediately when she discovered there was no bullets. What the hell? All she had was a stun gun. She didn't know who was coming down the stairs but she didn't have to wait long. A black combat boot came into view then another one before legs encased in black camo pants came into view. Steph watched as the man himself slowly came into view.

She stared in utter surprise, horror, delight, fear, and anger as the black obsidian eyes she thought she never see again crinkled in pleasure and the corners of his mouth tilted into that two hundred watt smile. And she couldn't move as he came closer and closer until he said that one word.

"Babe."


	11. Forgotten Is Forgiven

Author's Note: The response to chapter 10 floored me! Thank you so so much! You readers are just absolutely amazing! Please enjoy chapter 11... :-)

Chapter Ten  
Forgotten Is Forgiven

A black combat boot came into view then another one before legs encased in black camo pants came into view. Steph watched as the man came into view.

She stared in utter surprise, horror, delight, fear, and anger as the black obsidian eyes she thought she never see again crinkled in pleasure and the corners of his mouth tilted into that two hundred watt smile. And she couldn't move as came closer and closer until he said that one word.

"Babe."

Steph swallowed; hard. She licked her lips. She blinked her eyes several times. But she couldn't speak. She just stared at the man in front of her. He looked damn good. Too good for a fucking dead man. His dark brown silky hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. His eyes were clear and his skin was glowing. He hadn't lost any muscle tone or any weight at all. So he was able to work out and keep fit. So he couldn't have been injured or hurt. He just watched her closely, waiting to see her reaction. She didn't know what her reaction should be.

She was relieved, definitely. She wanted to hug him, kiss him, let him know that she was happy he was alive. At the same time, she wanted to shove that grin up his ass and maybe use this stun gun on him. She wanted to yell at him, scream at him about unfair his death was. His death… his death… He was supposed to be dead. Why wasn't he dead? Why was he here in front of her, breathing the same air as her? Giving her that smile and calling her babe?

"Babe?" The word was a question as he took a step closer to her.

Steph immediately held up her hands and took a step back. "Don't come any closer." She told him.

That made him frown. "Babe?" Another question. And he took another step.

Steph backed up. "Stop."

Ranger gave a slight shake of his head and took another step. "Babe, let me explain."

"You can explain all you want eventually but right now I don't want to talk to you."

Ranger reached out to touch her and Steph held up the only weapon she had; the stun gun. "If you touch me, I'll stun you."

"Babe." That was Ranger's way to say 'I don't believe you'd do that'. Well he was wrong because she would. She was that upset right now. She really didn't even know what to think. And right now, she didn't want hear his excuses.

Just then Dale moaned, breaking their eye contact with each other. They looked at Dale who was slowly coming around. Steph motioned towards Dale. "Help me get him tied up." She told him. She didn't ask him, she pretty much ordered him to help her. He didn't say anything and his blank face was up as he slowly nodded and began to tie Dale's hands behind his back. Steph didn't ask him where his handcuffs were. She didn't care at this moment in time. Ranger sat him down in the chair just as Dale started to come around. He moaned and opened his eyes.

"What the fuck?" Dale murmured.

Ranger punched him, blood spurted everywhere and Dale screamed in outrage. "What the fuck?" He repeated in an outraged shriek.

They both ignored him as they once again faced each other. Steph was still in denial that Ranger –who was supposed to be dead– was standing in front of her. Denial land was the only thing that was keeping her from breaking down into tears and welcoming him with opened arms. She needed to get her emotions in check before she confronted Ranger and demanded answers. And she could not, under in any circumstance let Ranger touch her. If he did, she would be gone.

"Babe, we need to talk." He said reaching out to touch her, grab her, she didn't know but she did the only thing she could think of, she stunned him. It registered on his face just as the prongs touched his skin. His eyes met hers just as they rolled back in his head and he slumped to the floor. Lucky for him, she helped slowly guide his body to the hard concrete so he didn't hurt himself. She knew she didn't have much time, so she leaned close to Ranger's ear so Dale wouldn't hear her.

"I'm glad you're alive, but you have a lot of explaining to do. Oh and I love you." She choked back a sob and faced Dale. "Get up." She ordered him.

He flashed her a dirty look through a blood covered face. "Fuck you."

She picked up the empty gun and pointed it at him, maybe he wouldn't remember it wasn't loaded. She hated guns, especially loaded ones.

Dale smirked at her. "It's not loaded, dumbass."

Too bad he remembered what an idiot he was. Steph tossed the gun and narrowed her eyes, thinking how she was going to get his ass up the stairs on his own and quickly before Ranger came to. There was no way she could stun him again. The first time was hard enough. She grinned as she thought of Ranger. She quickly took noticed of the gun tucked into his pants at his back, she would leave that one for him. She pulled his spare weapon from his ankle holster and leveled it at Dale.

"This one is loaded. Want me to prove it?" She asked with an evil grin. "I dare you."

Dale's eyes widened, shaking his head as he got to his feet. After that it didn't take no time at all. She used Dale's ragged piece of shit truck to drive him to the cop shop. After a quick explanation of what took place, she drove herself back to her hotel room. She panicked when she realized she didn't have any way to get into her hotel room, but quickly saw how Dale got into her room. The door was shut but the window had a small circle cut out of the glass pane, right next to the lock. She sighed. He had better hope nothing was missing because if there was jail wouldn't protect him from her.

Since the window was unlocked, she pushed it back and climbed through the window and sighed heavily with relief when she saw that nothing was missing. She didn't take time do anything but pack everything she had out. Lucky for her, she mostly kept everything packed up. She put everything in her car and drove several miles before stopping at another hotel. This time she was on the second floor. She unpacked her car, taking care to feed Rex once she got everything settled. She gathered up a clean set of clothes and went to take a shower.

She only booked this hotel for two nights and she didn't check out from the other hotel. She wouldn't stay here long, just long enough for her to get her emotions under control. She needed to do that before talking to Ranger about anything. Most especially about why he was suddenly alive and breathing.

"Oh my God, he's alive." Steph said out loud, just to hear the words. She barely managed to finish washing her hair before she collapsed into a ball on the tub floor and cried. She just didn't understand how he could be alive. She had went to his funeral. Okay, so his casket had been empty, but Tank had told her it was because nothing was left of Ranger to bury. Did that mean that Tank knew Ranger wasn't dead? Or did Ranger keep everyone in the dark as he faked his own death. Did he know about the explosion so he took advantage of it or did he plan the explosion himself? After all, he was always aware of his surroundings. He had lied to her, to his family, and his friends. Or did he only lie to her? Steph shook her head at that thought. She knew he had lied to his family. She had seen them that day at the funeral. They had been terribly upset and no one could fake that kind of agony. She would know. So maybe Ranger only lied to her and his family. But why? Why did he lie to her? And why did it hurt so much knowing that he did? He had never lied to her before. And the first time he did, she wasn't sure if she could ever forgive him.

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When Steph finally emerged from her shower/break down, clad only in a towel, she shrieked when she came face to face with Ranger. And he wasn't happy. Well good, because she wasn't either. She grabbed her clothes, completely ignoring him. When she came out of the bathroom for the second time, dressed in a pair of heather gray yoga pants and a pink camisole top, she felt much better. She was ready to confront Ranger with everything she had.

His dark eyes met hers and he frowned. "You stunned me." He stated in disbelief.

"How did you find me at Dale's?" She asked, ignoring his question.

Ranger was lounging in a straight back chair, his feet spread apart and his arms were resting on the arms of the chair. He looked laid back and relaxed, but Steph knew better. She could see the intense look in his eyes even though his face was void of emotion.

"You stunned me." He said again, his teeth clenched.

Her eyes narrowed. "You deserved it. I told you not to touch me. Now how did you find me at Dale's?"

After a minute of silence, Ranger spoke. "I had a tracker on Dale's truck." He replied slowly.

"Why?"

"He was following you. I wanted to be able to find him."

Steph felt a wave of anger wash over her. "You knew he was following me, but you didn't do anything?"

"You knew he was following you as well so you were aware of your surroundings and you were prepared. I couldn't make my presence known, Steph. Not yet."

"But you did." Steph stated.

Ranger slowly nodded. "When I got to your hotel room this morning and saw the window cut-out and you were gone, I assumed Dale had somehow grabbed you so I pulled up Dale's tracker."

"If you were following the both of us, why did it take you so long to find me in his damn basement?"

"As soon as I got to your hotel and saw you were gone, I tracked you both down, but you didn't need my help. You saved yourself, Babe. Proud of ya."

Steph started to shake. Those three little words shook her to the core. She swallowed hard and gripped the wall next to her. "Fuck you, Ranger. Just fuck you." She spat, trying her damnedest to hold the tears at bay.

Ranger sighed and stood up. "Babe, let me explain."

Steph shook her head, tears now falling down her face. "You died. You're supposed to be dead. Tank said you were caught in explosion and that you had died."

Ranger nodded and took a very slow step towards her. "Remember I told you about the man that killed some of my family?" Steph nodded, watching Ranger through watery eyes. Ranger took another step. "He was watching me, my family and friends, and my business. He knew things that he shouldn't have known, Steph."

As Ranger took another step closer, Steph took a step back. "You lied to me."

Ranger nodded in agreement. "I did, but I had to. I didn't have a choice, Steph."

"You could have told me. No, you _should_ have told me."

Ranger ran a hand through his hair, messing up its perfect arrangement. "Babe, I couldn't. He was watching my mom and he was watching you. Closely. Too close. He had information on the two of you that only someone watching so close would have had. He knew about Hawaii and the time we had sex in that closet and in the car. He knew how close we were and he made sure that I knew that he knew how damned close we were."

"You could have told me."

Ranger shook his head. "No I couldn't, Stephanie. Get that through your fucking head. He watched you for months before my so-called death and he watched you for another month after it. If he had noticed one little off thing, he would have known I wasn't dead and he would have killed you as revenge for my lie."

Steph swallowed, swiping at her tears angrily. "How come I didn't know he was following me? I knew Dale was. Why not this guy, whatever his name is?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he shook his head. "I don't know, Babe. I don't have an explanation for that. But I know he was watching you because I saw the before and after pictures."

"So you couldn't trust me enough to help you?" Steph asked trying desperately to understand.

"Steph, it had nothing to do with trust. I did it for your safety and my family's safety."

"So there really was a man killing your family?"

Ranger let out a deep exasperated sigh. "Yes and he wasn't going to stop at a distant uncle and cousin. He was going after you and my mother."

"Why just the two of us?"

His shoulders slightly moved in a shrug. "You two and my daughter are the most important women/people in my life."

Steph almost melted at that. Almost. "How many people knew?"

"About my death?"

Steph winced, but nodded. "Just the core team and then Ram because we needed his sniper skills. And Chief Juniak."

Steph's eyes widened and her breathing hitched. "Chief Joe Juniak knew? So the whole police force must have known…"

Steph trailed off as Ranger gripped her upper arms, giving her a slight shake. "No! Only the Chief knew. Because it was necessary. He had to have known."

Steph shook off his hands and walked across the room. "So the core team knew?" She turned to face him, fresh tears welling in her eyes. She was such an idiot. The whole time, Tank, Lester and Bobby knew that Ranger was alive and they didn't tell her. She sank onto to the bed and tried to focus her attention on the matter at hand and not her heart. Or the fact that she felt like her insides were being ripped apart and torn to shreds.

Ranger nodded. "The core team had to know. They helped."

Steph looked up. "Helped?"

Again he nodded. "With the explosion and … everything."

"The explosion was planned?" Steph hissed, getting to her feet.

Ranger sighed. "We picked this safe house for a reason in the beginning, five years ago when we bought it. It has an underground tunnel that leads to a sewer drain down the street. We spent several challenging hours running little tests about how long it would take me to get into the door and into the underground tunnel before the house exploded. We made the explosion go off when I slammed the door. It took me ten seconds, if I slammed the door, to get to the underground tunnel with the trapdoor shut. Since the tunnel was lined in –thanks to us– metal that won't melt under extreme heat, I was safe."

"That sounds totally stupid. How could you have known you had ten seconds? What if something happened and you only had a few seconds."

Ranger shrugged. "It was a ballsy move, but we had to do something."

"So Tank, Lester, and Bobby lied to me."

He nodded. "They didn't have a choice. I made them. It had to look real."

Steph shook her head. "They had a choice and they picked the wrong one."

"No, they did what they did for your safety." Ranger forced the issue.

Steph let that go. She would deal with those three later. "Was there every a will?"

Ranger shook his head. "No. I had Tank send my family money and even Julie got a new car and some money. And you –."

"I got the whole goddamned enchilada." Steph sneered. Ranger nodded. "Why? Why did you give me everything?"

"Because I know you so well and I trust you with everything. You wouldn't have spent the money on something stupid, hell you wouldn't have spent any of it, I knew. I also knew you wouldn't give it away. And I knew once I returned you wouldn't have any problem signing it all back over to me. I _trusted_ you with my whole life."

Steph ignored the trust comment. She couldn't go all mushy on him. "Did you bring the papers to do just that?" Steph asked curious.

Ranger shook his head. "No. The papers are still at RangeMan."

Steph wasn't sure what to say to that. "How did you know I was here?"

"In St. Louis? Or this hotel?"

She shrugged. "Both."

Ranger shook his head. "We have a tracker on you."

Steph shook her head in denial. "I checked before I left and got rid of them all."

"They put a tracker in Rex's cage while you were at RangeMan saying goodbye." He admitted with a grin.

Steph gave him a dirty look. "Those assholes."

Ranger shrugged still grinning. "It needed to be done."

She rolled her eyes. "How long have you been following me?"

"Not for too long. Finding your hotel was easy because that's where Rex was, but finding you when you weren't in the hotel was a little harder. I discovered you at the gym and I have to say I'm impressed, Babe." He told her with his two hundred watt grin.

"So why now and where have you been all this time?" Steph asked, giving the wall her attention and ignoring his sexy ass grin.

"I've been staying mostly in safe houses. I had to stay on seven for a few days when the safe house I was staying at had to be used."

Steph inhaled sharply. No, he couldn't have been there that day and heard her confession. She would have known, right? She didn't check his office. Maybe he had been there. "Were you there that day I came?" She questioned in a whisper.

Ranger shook his head. "I had just left. Tank said it was a close call too."

She let out a sigh of relief. He wasn't there and he didn't hear her confession. "So why show yourself now?"

He frowned. "You were in trouble, Babe. I could never let anything happen to you, rather it's a risk to my safety or not."

"Are you safe now?"

He nodded. "He's dead. And because I did fake my death and it was in a lot of newspapers, more of my enemies believe that I am dead. I was able to take out several more."

"So if Dale hadn't managed to kidnap me this morning and all, would I even know you're alive now."

Ranger nodded. "I was coming to your hotel to tell you this morning. I just came from my family to let them know that I'm alive and well."

"Did they understand? Were they mad?"

"They were upset, but they understood that I had to do what I _had_ to do."

"So that's it? You go back to Trenton like nothing has happened?" Steph finally looked up to meet Ranger's eyes to find him casually leaning against the wall, ankles crossed.

"Not quite like that, but yes. I've got to slowly push my way back into Trenton life and let others know that I'm alive."

Steph didn't know want to say about any of this. She was mad, but she couldn't find the oomph to yell at him. She was too hurt to consider why he had to do it this way. All she could think about was herself and for once she didn't care. The last few months have been pure hell for her. The hurting, the grieving, the anger, all because he lied about his death. And Tank lied. Lester and Bobby too. They had lied to her. They had held her in their arms to comfort her and the whole time they were lying.

"I'm sorry, Babe. But I'm glad you've forgiven me."

Steph snapped out of whatever trance she had been in and faced Ranger head on, hands on her hips, and all the Jersey attitude she could muster up.

"Forgive you?" She questioned. "FORGIVE YOU!" She yelled. "You want me to forgive me?" At Ranger's slow nod, she screeched. "Have you lost your mother-fucking mind?! I don't forgive you! I don't know if I can ever forgive you because saying I forgive you is like saying I've forgotten the last few months and I can't do that." She ranted at him.

Ranger cocked an eyebrow. "Babe." That babe told her he didn't believe her. He had another thing coming.

Steph narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was in full rhino mode and she was ready for a fight. "You had your three friends come to my apartment on April fucking fool's day and tell me that you were caught in a fucking explosion. That there was nothing left of you for me to see; for me to say good bye. I was so fucking upset, Ranger that they had to sedate me. All I could do was cry. CRY! Then Tank came by. The first time with a damned envelope with just gobs and gobs of money telling me to fly. Then the second time he came by, it was to sign your company over to me."

"Babe, I had to do that to make it look real."

Steph shrieked her displeasure. "I DIDN'T WANT YOUR FUCKING COMPANY OR FUCKING MONEY OR FUCKING CARS, RANGER! I WANTED YOU!" She took a deep breath and lowered her breath. "I just wanted you."

"Babe, I'm here now. Please." He pleaded with those dark brown eyes.

She shook her head. "You don't get to say that, Ranger. Not this time."

"Tell me what I need to do, Babe and I'll do it. But understand this, I'm not going to apologize for doing what I had to do. And if I hadn't faked my own fucking death, he would have killed my mother, my daughter, and you. He wouldn't have done it with a quick bullet either. He would have taken his time and shipped you three back to me in fucking pieces, Stephanie. So yes I faked my death to make everyone believe that I was gone. Because I did, Raoul relaxed and called off his many bodyguards, making it easy for me to sneak in and kill him. And I did KILL him, Babe." Steph gasped when Ranger smiled at her. But it wasn't his usually smile. This one scared her. "I _tortured_ the son of a bitch to make him pay for putting everyone I love and care about through what you had to go through."

By the time Ranger was finished, he had backed her against the wall and was in her face. Steph placed her palms on his chest and gave him a giant shove. Taken off guard, he stumbled back. Shock registered in his eyes and then slowly, pride.

"I understand why you did it. I even get it, but right now I can't forgive you. The pain was so unbearable and so strong that I couldn't do anything but stay curled under the covers, hoping with everything that I am that it wasn't true, and I cried. Oh God, I cried until I couldn't breathe and I would choke and eventually make myself sick as hell. So no, I can't forgive you. Oh don't get me wrong, I'm so happy that you're alive and well and standing in front of me that I just want to lose myself in you. But I want to punch you so bad, I can taste it. And if I stay here a moment longer, I'm going to."

Steph slipped on a pair of flip flops, grabbed her purse and headed towards the door. Ranger grabbed her arm and swung her around.

"Where are you going?" He barked out harshly, his eyes narrowed and flashing anger.

Steph jerked her arm free. "None of your business, Ranger."

She turned once more only to have Ranger grab her once again. This time she didn't hold back, she reared back her right arm and punched Ranger right square in the nose. She was pretty sure it hurt her more than it hurt him, but it did shock him. He stared at her in stunned silence. He wasn't bleeding or anything and Steph was glad she didn't make him bleed. She would have felt guilty as hell. But since he wasn't, she didn't.

"Back off, Ricardo Carlos Manoso. I need my damned space right now." She opened the door, but turned back to him. "And you can tell Tank, Lester, and Bobby that I'm going to kick all their fucking asses once I return to Trenton." She gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes and it wasn't friendly. "And trust me, I can do it too."

With that, she slammed the hotel door and headed for her car. The only person she knew she could trust was Harley. And that was exactly where she was headed.


	12. Forgivenes Is An Attribute of the Strong

Sorry... Please forgive me.. :-)

Characters are NOT mine and I am NOT making any money.

Chapter Twelve  
Forgiveness Is The Attribute of the Strong

By the time Steph made it to Harley's gym, she was in tears. Again. She was so tired of crying. Tired of the red swollen eyes and the Rudolph nose. She vowed that once all this was behind her –and she knew that day would eventually come– she would never cry again. She pulled open the doors to the gym and was greeted by Teresa's sunny smile. That smile immediately turned into a frown when she saw Steph and the tears making tracks down her cheeks.

"Oh Honey, what's wrong?" She asked concerned then shaking her head. "I'll get Harley right away." She picked up the phone and hit a button before speaking in hushed tones. Steph just waited, smiling softly at Teresa when she covered her hand with her own and giving it a pat. She hung up the phone just as quickly but didn't get a chance to say anything. Harley came bursting through a door at a dead run not far from behind Teresa.

He muttered a quick thanks to Teresa before pulling a still crying Steph into what she now knew was in his office. Even though they had become great friends the last few weeks, she had never been in his office. Harley pulled her into the circle of arms and waited for her to cry herself out. In the past few weeks as their friendship had blossomed, Harley had come to know Steph's crying jags over her friend, Ranger. He wasn't sure if this was the same thing, but he knew the only thing he could do was wait.

He didn't have to wait long for Steph was ready to tell all. "Ranger's alive." She blurted out against his massive chest.

Gripping her upper arms, he pulled back to look at her in disbelief. "What?"

Steph shook her head and took a deep breath. "Ranger is alive."

He gave her a 'yeah right' look. "The same Ranger that was killed in an explosion?"

Steph nodded.

"Um… can you explain please?" Harley asked, so nicely that it made Steph smile through blurry eyes.

Fifteen minutes later, they were seated on the large black leather sofa in Harley's office as Steph just finished telling Harley the whole story.

"So he faked his death to protect his family and you?"

Steph nodded.

"Why show himself now? After all this time?"

"They killed the one that was after him."

"They?"

"Ranger, Lester, and Ram, I think. Maybe Bobby but I'm not entirely sure."

"So he just popped up this morning out of nowhere?" Harley questioned looking a little weirded out.

Steph nodded again. "Well, remember I told you that I felt like I was being followed?"

"Yes. It was Ranger?"

"No, it was one of my old skips, Dale. He broke into my hotel room this morning and gave me a jolt with a stun gun when I was barely awake. He took me to this concrete basement to kill me."

"What?!" Harley practically bellowed.

She patted his cheek. "Calm down. I got myself out of it thanks to everything you taught me and my pure Jersey girl attitude, but Ranger just showed up where Dale had me and said he had Dale bugged because he knew he was following me."

Harley shook his head, anger marring his handsome features. "If he knew this Dale guy was following you then why didn't he do something about it?"

"He said he couldn't, but he also said that he knew I was aware that I was being followed and I was being cautious about it." Steph gave him a smile. "I owe that all to you."

Harley returned her smile, but it wasn't there long. "This is, I'm sure a stupid question, but were you happy to see him?"

Steph's teeth sunk into her bottom lip and she nodded. "I was so happy to see him that I just wanted to hug him and never let go."

"Then why are you here with me and not with him, Sweetheart?" He asked gently.

Steph shrugged. "He lied to me, Harley. And I know deep down in my heart that he did the right thing, it still hurts. He's never lied to me before and takes my breath away every time I think about it. Oh God, just the thought of it hurts so much."

Harley leaned forward and cupped Steph's face. "Steph, what he did was the ultimate sacrifice. I bet he knew how much it was going to hurt you and his mother when you learned of his death. I bet he also knew how pissed you would be when you discovered the truth. So he didn't apologized for doing what he did, I can understand that. But that doesn't mean he can't apologize for hurting you, for upsetting you."

"And he won't apologize for hurting me either, that isn't his way." Steph replied.

"Ask for the apology, Sweetheart. Tell him that you would like an apology for the way he hurt you. Not for doing what he did because you know it was the right thing to do, but for causing you pain."

"And if he doesn't?" Steph questioned sadly, wanting to be realistic.

Using a single thumb, he gently wiped a single tear from Steph's cheek. "If he can't apologize for hurting the one woman who loves him more than anything in this world, then you need to ask yourself if the relationship is worth it."

She sighed. "But I love him, Harley and I can never love anyone else but him."

Harley gave her a sad smile. "But what's love if you're miserable."

Her eyes narrowed. "You're not saying this so I'll forget all about Ranger and hook up with you, are you?" Steph asked, getting a little angry at Harley.

Harley shook his head. "I want you to be happy, Stephanie. I know with Ranger you'll be happy, but only if you know he loves you just as much you love him."

Steph let out another sigh. "The only way for me to know that is to ask him, right?" Steph asked, already knowing and dreading Harley's answer.

He chuckled. "Tell him how you feel and see how he responds."

"What if it isn't the response I want, Harley?" Steph whined.

"You already know the answer to that, Sweetheart."

"Ugh! You're right. I do, but I'm not sure I really want to know the answer."

Harley leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Yes you do."

She let out one more sigh before giving Harley a hug. "Thank you, Harley."

He returned her hug, smoothing a hand up and down her back. "Anytime."

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Steph returned to the hotel; the one where she left Ranger. He was still there and he didn't look happy. Until he saw her. He stood and immediately pulled her into his arms. Steph went willingly. She clung to him like she was afraid he might disappear if she let him go. She didn't cry, she was thankful for that. However she did take deep breaths, breathing him in. He seemed to be doing the same thing to her. His nose was buried in her hair. She could feel him drag in deep breaths and then let them slowly out.

"Babe." He whispered against her hair. "Dios Mio I missed you." He squeezed her tighter to him.

Steph squeezed him back. "I missed you too, Ranger. So much."

He took another deep breath before pulling back to look her at her. "Are you still upset with me?"

Steph shook her head and then nodded making Ranger chuckle. She grinned. "I'm upset but I understand why you did it now. I'm sorry I took off like that. I needed to talk to someone that wasn't close to you."

His brows furrowed in confusion. "Explain."

Steph kept the grin to herself, but she was honest to herself. She missed his one word replies. "Because anyone close to you would have automatically told me to forgive you. I didn't want that."

His frown became harder and his lip actually curled in disgust. "So you went and talked to Harley." He spat the name.

Steph nodded. "I did talk to Harley and he gave me good advice. He made me see."

"Made you see what?"

"That yes I'm mad at you, but I can forgive you because I know what you do was for the right reasons." There was no way she could tell him she loved him. Not right now.

He kissed her forehead. "Babe, I hated that I had to hurt you. I knew what the aftermath was going to be and I hated every minute of it. Tank, Lester, and Bobby hated lying to you, but oh hell, Babe I hated it even more."

Steph cupped his cheek. "I know you had to do it, but I understand that you did. I don't want you to apologize for doing the right thing, but I –

He pressed a finger to her parted lips. "I'm sorry I had to put you through all that pain. If I can and if you'll let me, I'll spend the rest of my life making sure you never feel that type of pain again."

Steph's eyes widened. "Does that mean maybe… our someday…" Steph trailed off.

Ranger gently brushed her mouth with his. "I can't promise forever right now, Babe. I'm still in contract with the government."

"But do you love me?" Steph asked afraid to admit that she loved him.

He brushed another kiss against her mouth. "Steph, I do love you. I always will, but in my own way, Babe. I can't offer any more than that because I don't know when I'll have to ship out again or if I'll be back."

Steph let his words sink in slowly before she pulled away from his warm embrace. "So it goes back to what it was like before you left? Before you died?" She sneered.

Ranger ran a hand over his face. "No. Not exactly. The cop is no longer an option for you. For two reasons. One, I don't share, not with any one and that includes the tall overgrown one or the cop and two, Morelli is engaged."

Steph looked up. "Joe's getting married?" She asked grinning. Ranger took that as a good sign and nodded. "Good. I'm glad he's happy. Although it didn't take him long did it?"

Ranger shrugged slightly. "He's not good enough for you."

"But you are?" Steph asked.

"I can try."

"You just can't promise forever because of some stupid government contract?"

"Yes."

"Then what exactly, Ranger? Help me understand what that means for us."

"It means we go back to Trenton. We go back to our lives the way they were before I left. We date, you can move in with me if you want. We date. Exclusively."

"If you don't share, does that mean I have to?"

Ranger shook his head. "I'm faithful, Steph. I'll always be to you."

"And if I don't want to go back to Trenton, right now?"

Ranger's handsome features suddenly became angry. "Does this have something to do with that overgrown barbarian at the gym?" He hissed.

Steph's eyes widened. She had never heard Ranger act this way. Or call someone names. "It has nothing to do with Harley. It has to do with me. I just enrolled in college and even though they're online courses, I want to stay in St. Louis and see it through. I don't know if I can do that in Trenton."

Ranger relaxed and pulled Steph back into his arms. "Steph, I have to go back to Trenton. I've got to get my life back in order. To soothe ruffled feathers with certain clients and let the Chief know that I'm back for good and get the word out on Stark that I'm back and badder than ever."

Steph giggled and rolled her eyes. "Badder?"

He smiled as he pressed a hard kiss to her mouth and groaned before pressing deeper, parting her lips with his tongue to gain access to what he one thing he had missed so much. His Babe.

Steph whimpered in his arms and against his mouth before she wrapped her arms around his neck and lost herself in his kiss. And when his warm hands found her smooth skin she helped remove her shirt and then helped remove his. She let herself get lost in him. He whispered sweet words in English and Spanish as he slowly made love to her. Steph lost herself in sensations she had never felt before. When they finally became sated, they fell asleep in each other's arms. Steph finally felt whole once again.

R&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&SR&S

"So what do you want to do, Babe? It's up to you. I'll stay here for as long as you want." Ranger asked after he finished chewing a bite of his salad. After waking up and making love a few more times, they decided to grab dinner at a local restaurant. Ranger, of course, ordered a salad with grilled chicken. Steph ordered the grilled chicken stir fry. She was glad she did because it was good.

Steph leaned over and kissed him softly. "I know you would, but that's not what you need to do. You need to return to Trenton."

"And you leave you here? By yourself? With Harley?" He asked, his tone telling Steph that was so not going to happen.

Steph laughed. "Harley and me are friends and nothing more. He's harmless, Ranger and I want you to respect that. No background checks. Trust me. Trust my judgment. Please."

Ranger caressed her cheek with his thumb. "I trust you, Steph. Completely."

Steph beamed at him and Ranger couldn't help but return that smile with one of his two hundred watt ones. They suddenly heard a very loud crash and looked over as a waitress grinned at them sheepishly, picking up broken plates and glasses all around her. Steph laughed. Ranger's smile could make any girl (or guy) run into walls and doors or anything else around them. He was just that good-looking.

"Go back to Trenton, Ranger. Get everything settled. Get your life back the way it should be."

"And you?"

"I'll come back. I promised my mom I would and Trenton is my home. It can't be replaced. Ever. You can't be replaced either."

Ranger swallowed and slowly nodded. "Are you sure this is what you want, Babe?"

Steph nodded. "It is. We can talk every night over the phone and you can come and visit me. As soon as I finish my classes and when I'm ready, I'll come back to Trenton."

"Why do you want to wait, Stephanie?" Ranger asked.

Steph rolled her eyes. She knew she wouldn't be able to fool him. "I want to wait until the uproar from your arrival in Trenton dies down."

Ranger nodded, finally understanding. "You don't want to hear all the talk and gossip, huh?"

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "No, I really don't, but I will be back."

"I'll be waiting."

"I'm glad you're alive, Ranger."

"And you've forgiven me for deceiving you?" He questioned.

Steph nodded. "I have. What you did was the right thing to do."

Ranger grasped her face between his hands and smiled. He brushed a kiss across her forehead, then one on her nose, and then one more on her parted mouth. "Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."

Steph grinned. She felt strong. She _was_ strong.


	13. Tank & the Bat Cave

Author's Note: It's short and I'm sorry. I wanted to go ahead and get a chapter out. I think you just might like this one. And another isn't far behind. I promise. Enjoy!

Chapter Thirteen  
Tank & the Bat Cave

"Thanks so much." Steph replied before hanging up the phone. She turned just in time to watch Ranger emerged from the bathroom, steam rolling out behind him. Dressed in only a white towel wrapped around his waist, hanging low on his hips. Steph licked her hips and let out a sigh of appreciation. Ranger's eyes darkened but instead of acting upon the clear invitation Steph was giving, he smiled his signature grin, grabbed his clothes and went back into the bathroom.

Steph groaned and fell back onto the bed. They had pretty much spent the last two days in this very hotel room, becoming reacquainted with each other. Steph hadn't wanted to let him go –really, she hadn't wanted to let him out of bed, but this morning she woke up with a giddy feeling that she wanted to explore so after she got ready and she told Ranger to get ready, she called the hotel where she worked part time and took today off. Again. Lucky for her, her boss was amazing. Because today, she had plans that included just her and Ranger.

She sat up when the bathroom door opened once again and Ranger stepped out. His hair pulled back into a low pony tail and a single diamond solitaire in his ear. He now had on a pair of black jeans and dark maroon silk shirt. He looked utterly yummy. He grabbed a pair of dark tennis shoes, sitting down next to Steph he pulled them on and tied the laces.

"What's on the agenda for today, Babe?"

"Are you sure you don't have to be back in Trenton anytime soon?" Steph questioned cautiously. She didn't want him to leave, but she knew he had to get back and she wasn't ready to leave.

Ranger shook his head as he finished tying his shoes. "I called Tank and told him I wanted I stick around for a few days. He hates the paperwork, but he understands so I'm all yours."

Steph wanted to ask for how long but that wouldn't be fair. So instead she grinned. "Lucky me."

Ranger planted a hard kiss on her mouth. "Lucky me, Babe. Now what do you have planned for today?"

She nudged his shoulder with her own and smiled. "Six Flags, St. Louis Zoo, and the Science Center." She told him.

He cocked one eyebrow and his lips twitched. "We tackling all three of those today, Babe?"

She shrugged. "We can most certainly try, can't we?"

Ranger tucked a stray curl behind her ear, letting his finger caress her cheek. A solemn look on his normally blank face. "You're happy here." He stated with an almost sad tone to his voice.

Steph smiled softly and nodded. "I am happy here, Ranger, but that doesn't mean I'm never going back to Trenton."

"Are you sure about that, Babe?" He sounded uncertain.

His comment made Steph frown. "I'm sure, Ranger. Trenton is my home. I only left so I could heal. Everything reminded me so much of you."

He cupped her cheek, bringing their faces closer together. "Then there's no reason for you to remain behind once I leave." His tone hard.

She cupped his cheek. "Maybe in some ways, but in other ways there are."

"Explain." He ordered harshly. When Steph's eyes narrowed in annoyance, he sighed very softly. "Please." He added gently.

Steph stood up and walked to the window, the curtains were open and bringing in strong sunlight. It was definitely a perfect day to spend outdoors. In the upper seventies with a soft breeze. Steph really wanted to spend this day outside with the love of her life. If only she could tell him that. It shouldn't be hard, really but it so was.

"Babe?" Ranger almost sounded worried.

She shook her head. "I'm finding myself here, Ranger. Here I'm not the Bombshell Bounty Hunter. Here I'm not the local gossip magnet or the neighborhood joke."

"Stephanie, you're nobody's joke." He replied, getting to his feet and crossing the distance between them.

She whirled around, facing him, fire in her eyes. "This coming from someone who once told me that I was a line under entertainment on his budget." She spat.

Ranger cursed, low and hard. He cupped her face between his palms, their foreheads touched. "Babe, I'm an idiot and I never should have said that. You're an amazing woman with such determination that sometimes you even surpass myself."

"Everyone still bets on me back at home, Ranger and that's never going to stop because there will always be some idiot that wants to blow up my car or my apartment. Or some dumbass that's so intent on killing me that bad things happen around me."

"Steph, you're bettering yourself here. Getting stronger, taking self-defense. I have every confident that you'll be kicking ass once you return to Trenton. And I'll personally make sure the betting stops."

"What about the crazies?" Steph questioned, ignoring his last comment. She didn't want to know how he would make that stop. Maybe some threatening and some evil looks.

Ranger cocked his head in thought. "Are you going to return to bounty hunting once you come home?"

She slowly shook her head. "No, I'm not. I want to be a social worker. I want to help families in need."

A hint of a smile passed over Ranger's face. "Then there shouldn't be any reason for any crazy to be after you. And if they do, we'll take care of them."

"Really?"

Ranger nodded. "Yes. Really." He brushed a kiss across her forehead. "You've got such a big heart, Steph. Such of one that I know you're going to be a great social worker, Babe."

"You think so?" She asked hopefully.

Ranger kissed her forehead softly, his lips lingering against her skin. "I know so, Babe. I'm so very proud of you for doing so."

Steph grinned. "Thanks Ranger."

He kissed her mouth before gently pulling away. He stood up and grabbed his phone from the dresser. He began messing with it as he talked to Steph. "Since you're not going back to Trenton anytime soon, there's something I want to show you." He replied as he held up his phone.

Steph gasped when she saw Tank –the dog not the man. "That's Tank."

Ranger laughed. "Yeah. I like his name, by the way."

She laughed. "How did you know about Tank?"

Ranger cocked his head, face serious. "When you told Tank about him, he sent Woody to go get him."

Steph's eyes widened. "What? Tank is at RangeMan?"

Ranger chuckled softly. "Yes. Both Tanks are at RangeMan."

She squealed and threw herself at Ranger. She hated having to leave Tank behind, but she knew that big of a dog need a place to run and move. And a hotel room wasn't an ideal place for a mastiff. She couldn't believe that Tank was just a drive away. And he was hers! She squealed again, kissing Ranger's cheek. She pulled back, grabbing her phone to dial Tank –the man. Maybe she should have named him something else. Two Tanks is going to get a little bit confusing.

She was just about to hit send on her phone when she had a sudden thought. She looked up at Ranger to find him watching her. "Where is Tank right now?"

He laughed once again. "The dog or the man?"

Steph grinned. "That is going to get confusing isn't it? Maybe now I'll have a reason to call Tank, Pierre."

Ranger coughed, hiding a laugh and shaking his head. "Tank is at my place. _Pierre_ has been taking care of him while I'm gone." Ranger winked.

She smiled but her brows quickly furrowed in confusion. "Your place? Your apartment is too small for a mastiff, Ranger." She told him.

Ranger nodded as he grabbed his wallet. "I agree it is. That's why he's at _my house_." He emphasized looking straight at Steph.

"The bat cave?" Steph squeaked. Ranger nodded, watching her closely.

She swallowed hard. "He's still my dog, right?" She asked.

Ranger slowly closed in on her, trapping her against the wall with his palms flat against the wall on both sides of her head. "He's definitely your dog, Steph and once you return to Trenton, you can come and pick him up." He murmured against her ear, low and sexy.

Steph gulped. "But that's the bat cave…" She whispered.

Ranger licked the shell of her ear. "Yep."

She whimpered. "But the bat cave is forever."

Ranger nibbled her earlobe. "Exactly Babe." He replied huskily.

Before Steph could reply to that, he was out the door and gone.


End file.
